A film review by Peter Bock. Copyright © 2022, 2023, 2024 by Peter A Bock. Last edited at 10 p.m. on December 1st, 2024
Every Time We Say Goodbye is a romantic drama set in Jerusalem, Palestine, in September of 1942, during World War II. It is the tragic love story of Sarah, a young Sephardic Jewish girl, and David, an American aviator from Missoula, Montana.
The film is available for rent on amazon prime video, VUDU, Apple TV, free on Tubi, from Sony on Xfinity, and as a DVD.
This review includes a DETAILED SYNOPSIS of the film including spoilers, nearly 80 JPEGs [click any one for a slide show], and links to eight YouTube videos in a playlist.
This review also includes a link to the sequel I have written, a romantic drama titled Sarah and David: The Sequel
Finally, there is a brief BIOGRAPHY of each of the two lead actors and some of the FILMING LOCATIONS.
SPOILER: The film has been characterized as an impossible love story because at the end Sarah decides to bow to her parents' wishes, accept the rigid customs and traditions of the Sephardic community and marry Nessim, her Sephardic cousin, even though she loves David. In the final scene she lies to David, telling him she will wait for him, although she is planning to marry Nessim later that same day.
David Bradley (Tom Hanks)
is a Presbyterian minister's son from Missoula, Montana who volunteered
to fly fighter aircraft for the British Royal Air Force (RAF) in
North Africa, early in WWII before the U.S. entered the war. His leg was
injured when he was shot down over North Africa and he has been recuperating in
a Jerusalem military hospital in September of 1942.Through his squadron leader and friend Peter Ross (Benedict Taylor), David meets Peter's fiancée Victoria Sasson (Anat Atzmon) and her friend Sarah Perrera (Cristina Marsillach, cris.TINA MAR.si.YAK), a lovely young Sephardic Jewish girl with a large, culturally-insular, matriarchal, religious family. David and Sarah are immediately attracted to one another, although Sarah tries to deny her feelings because she believes a relationship with David would be impossible. Their romance blossoms slowly, during a family dinner, Peter and Victoria's wedding and reception, a walk, a dance and a visit to the Ein Gedi Nature Reserve.
Sarah is eighteen, and this is her first love affair. She cannot hide her youthful yearnings for David, nor can she ignore her duty to honor the family traditions by marrying within the Sephardic Jewish community. [Sephardic Jews in Jerusalem, Palestine originally came from Spain. They were expelled from Spain in 1492 and settled around the Mediterranean basin and in Jerusalem. They preserved their own customs, religious rituals and the Ladino language, also known as Judeo - Spanish, which is a form of Medieval Spanish with Arabic, Aramaic, Hebrew and other influences.]
Sarah's insular, protective family observes her growing affection for David with anxiety because he is an American, a Gentile, and is wearing the uniform of the British governors of Palestine. [The British governed Palestine from 1920 to 1948 through a League of Nations Mandate.] So, her mother and brothers try, forcefully but unsuccessfully, to keep the lovers apart.
Tom Hanks
and Cristina Marsillach have restrained but acceptable romantic chemistry, given that they were both involved in other relationships. Tom's girlfriend Rita Wilson was with him in Israel during filming, and Cristina returned to Italy after filming wrapped, to be with her Italian boyfriend.
The film is an Israeli production with average production values, as observed in the sets, costumes and soundtrack, and it has a soft, period feeling to it, as though the viewer really has been transported to the Jerusalem of 1942. Marsillach gives a credible performance as a girl on the brink of womanhood, torn between love and duty. Hanks also gives a credible performance, showing us the potential that would later produce Oscar-winning performances in Philadelphia (1993) and Forrest Gump (1994). The only possible criticism is that he displays too much fresh-faced innocence, and not enough of the cocky but war-weary cynicism one would expect to find in a fighter pilot facing death every day in the skies over North Africa. However, this minor flaw will be forgiven by fans of Hanks who enjoy his early work in light fantasy comedy romances like Splash (1984), The Money Pit (1986), and Big (1988).
For Israeli writer and director Moshe Mizrahi the women in his films are strong, but not tragic figures. They have an ability to live their lives consistent with fulfilling their need for love. Mizrahi was interested in the mysterious ways of love, and the quality of grace that develops in adults when they give and receive love. His philosophy was that if your story is not about love, then there is no need to tell it.
In an interview toward the end of his life, Academy Award winner Mizrahi noted that women have been an important part of his family's culture since his Sephardic Jewish forefathers were exiled from Spain in 1492, and in writing the story and screenplay for Every Time We Say Goodbye he drew on his own experience. Knowing this made me wonder if the film was based on a true story and, if so, what happened to David and Sarah, the two main characters.
I also wondered about Mizrahi's choice of casting a Spanish actress to play Sarah, when he could have found a Sephardic Israeli actress to play the role. And was his choice controversial in Israel at the time?
The central character in the story clearly is Sarah, Cristina Marsillach's character. Here we see director Mizrahi coaching Cristina before they film the Ein Gedi Nature Reserve scene, while Tom Hanks waits patiently.
The film is an Israeli production with average production values, as observed in the sets, costumes and soundtrack, and it has a soft, period feeling to it, as though the viewer really has been transported to the Jerusalem of 1942. Marsillach gives a credible performance as a girl on the brink of womanhood, torn between love and duty. Hanks also gives a credible performance, showing us the potential that would later produce Oscar-winning performances in Philadelphia (1993) and Forrest Gump (1994). The only possible criticism is that he displays too much fresh-faced innocence, and not enough of the cocky but war-weary cynicism one would expect to find in a fighter pilot facing death every day in the skies over North Africa. However, this minor flaw will be forgiven by fans of Hanks who enjoy his early work in light fantasy comedy romances like Splash (1984), The Money Pit (1986), and Big (1988).
For Israeli writer and director Moshe Mizrahi the women in his films are strong, but not tragic figures. They have an ability to live their lives consistent with fulfilling their need for love. Mizrahi was interested in the mysterious ways of love, and the quality of grace that develops in adults when they give and receive love. His philosophy was that if your story is not about love, then there is no need to tell it.
In an interview toward the end of his life, Academy Award winner Mizrahi noted that women have been an important part of his family's culture since his Sephardic Jewish forefathers were exiled from Spain in 1492, and in writing the story and screenplay for Every Time We Say Goodbye he drew on his own experience. Knowing this made me wonder if the film was based on a true story and, if so, what happened to David and Sarah, the two main characters.
I also wondered about Mizrahi's choice of casting a Spanish actress to play Sarah, when he could have found a Sephardic Israeli actress to play the role. And was his choice controversial in Israel at the time?
The central character in the story clearly is Sarah, Cristina Marsillach's character. Here we see director Mizrahi coaching Cristina before they film the Ein Gedi Nature Reserve scene, while Tom Hanks waits patiently.
There are sufficient plot elements in Every Time We Say Goodbye that are reminiscent of The Very Thought of You (1944) that you could argue that writer / director Moshe Mizrahi was inspired by the earlier film. Both films are: (a) set during World War II; (b) feature wartime romances between two couples in which the women are close friends, and the men in uniform are also close friends; (c) the family of the female lead strongly disapproves of her romantic choice, except that one sibling is sympathetic and supports her; (d) the men are serving in North Africa; (e) the male lead is wounded in action but recovers; (f) both films feature songs that were popular in the period between 1935 and 1940.
The original music for Every Time We Say Goodbye was composed by noted French composer Philippe Sarde, who has 219 filmography composer credits as of February of 2023.
Every Time We Say Goodbye was Tom Hanks' lowest grossing and least appreciated film. He is quoted on his IMDb Full Biography page under the Personal Quotes topic as saying: [on Every Time We Say Goodbye (1986)] Disappeared without a trace, even though it's probably the most visually beautiful movie I've made.
Every Time We Say Goodbye was, at that time, the most expensive Israeli film production, with a budget of $3.7 million. Unfortunately, it was a major box office bomb, with a worldwide box office gross of $278,623. Assuming that most of the tickets would have been sold in the U.S., Spain, Italy and Israel, at an average price of $2.00, fewer than one hundred fifty thousand people would have seen the film in a theater.
One reason this romantic drama may have disappeared without a trace, as Hanks put it, was that it failed to appeal to fans of either Hanks or Marsillach. Hanks' projects in the mid-1980s were typically light comedies, probably because Hanks considered himself a comedian who happened to be working in films: Bachelor Party (comedy, 1984); The Man With One Red Shoe (comedy, thriller, 1985); Volunteers (adventure, comedy, 1985); The Money Pit (comedy, 1986); Nothing in Common (comedy, drama, romance, 1986).
In contrast to Hanks, Marsillach's projects in the mid-1980s were typically dramatic, erotic, often violent, thrillers. In the year before Every Time We Say Goodbye she made Crimen en familia (Family Crime - violent thriller, 1985) and La gabbia (The Trap - Italian erotic thriller with graphic nudity and bondage, 1985). And in the year following Every Time We Say Goodbye, she starred in Dario Argento's Opera, a crime, horror, mystery slasher-thriller, promoted with the tagline An Aria of Terror from the Maestro of Horror - Dario Argento, and rated R by the MPAA for strong terror and violence and for a scene of sensuality.
So, we have a romantic drama set in Jerusalem during World War II featuring strong female characters within an insular, matriarchal religious culture unfamiliar to most viewers, with much of the dialogue spoken in Ladino (Judeo-Spanish) and requiring subtitles, and without the typical Hollywood ending and thus unlikely to appeal to fans of either Hanks or Marsillach. You could argue that Every Time We Say Goodbye was doomed from the start.
It is worth noting that Hanks did attempt to introduce an element of comedy in at least five scenes: doing a soft shoe with his walking stick in the opening hospital scene; drinking champagne at the wedding reception; falling in the water at the Ein Gedi Nature Reserve; emptying the whiskey bottle in a drinking scene with Victoria; and in the final scene where he tells Sarah that he will come back from Burma, Australia and Antarctica, when clearly Antarctica is meant as a joke. It is also worth noting that Marsillach attempted to intensify the drama in the family interrogation scene. Perhaps both Hanks and Marsillach were attempting to appeal to their fans.
DETAILED SYNOPSIS INCLUDING SPOILERS:
Here is a montage of scenes from the film, showing Sarah and David as they fall in love. You may think of this entire review as an homage to these two characters, and to the actors who play them.
This synopsis contains both narration and dialogue, especially the dialogue between Sarah and David. I am doing this so I can better understand the patterns and the rhythms of their communication, so I can write better dialogue for them in the sequel.
The film takes place over a span of two and a half months, from David's opening scene in the hospital (September 6th, 1942) to the ending scene with David and Sarah at Atarot Airfield (November 19th, 1942.)
00:00 When it opens we see David lying in a bed in a Jerusalem military hospital. He is recovering from a leg injury and has healed enough to leave the hospital. Next, we see David and Peter Ross, his squadron leader, in Peter's room at Pension Ada, which Mrs. Finkelstein (Orna Porat) is showing him. Peter is giving up his room because he's getting married and wants David to have it. [A pension lodging typically consists of one or more rooms in or adjoining a private residence, that are available for rent to travelers.] David remarks that he has been living in a boarding house for ten days, so this seems like heaven, and where does he sign.
This scene also contains this dialogue:
The film takes place over a span of two and a half months, from David's opening scene in the hospital (September 6th, 1942) to the ending scene with David and Sarah at Atarot Airfield (November 19th, 1942.)
00:00 When it opens we see David lying in a bed in a Jerusalem military hospital. He is recovering from a leg injury and has healed enough to leave the hospital. Next, we see David and Peter Ross, his squadron leader, in Peter's room at Pension Ada, which Mrs. Finkelstein (Orna Porat) is showing him. Peter is giving up his room because he's getting married and wants David to have it. [A pension lodging typically consists of one or more rooms in or adjoining a private residence, that are available for rent to travelers.] David remarks that he has been living in a boarding house for ten days, so this seems like heaven, and where does he sign.
This scene also contains this dialogue:
05:00 By the way there's been an American military attaché inquiring if you might like to change uniforms now that you Yanks are in it officially.
Tell him I'm not interested.
Of course, you're a bloody awful wingman, but I'm used to you.
[Since Pres. Roosevelt declared that the U.S. invasion of North Africa should go forward at the earliest opportunity, and on August 13th Gen. Eisenhower was selected as commander of Operation Torch, I have made two assumptions: (1) that the first scene in which David was discharged from the hospital was on September 6th, 1942, and (2) that this conversation in the room in Pension Ada took place ten days later, on September 16th. For reference, this is three years after Germany invaded Poland to begin World War II and nine months after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor brought the U.S. into the war.]
06:00 Victoria and Sarah are at Sarah's workplace, possibly an import-export business, in which Victoria's father and Sarah's cousin, Nessim (Moni Moshonov), are partners. Nessim is ten years older than Sarah, has loved her since he first saw her the day she was born, tells her every day that he loves her, and has just been waiting for her to grow up so he can marry her. Sarah and Victoria then leave to go to the Garden Café to meet Peter, Victoria's fiancé.
08:20 Peter and David are in uniform at the Garden Café, [Wednesday, September 16th, 1942] which is located behind the King David Hotel northwest of the Old City of Jerusalem, and which has an outdoor bandstand and a dance floor. Peter tells David that he and Victoria are going to be married and he wants David to be his best man. Victoria and Sarah arrive and introductions are made. YOUTUBE VIDEO
Peter tells Victoria he has received permission for them to be married, and asks her how a week from Monday [September 28th] sounds. Sarah tells Victoria she has lost her mind, that Victoria had no right to use her as an alibi, and gets up to leave. Peter says he has ordered champagne to celebrate, and he and Victoria beg Sarah to stay. Then Victoria asks Peter to dance with her and they get up, leaving Sarah and David alone.
11:00 Well, they certainly do look good together. I'll give them that.
Is that a good reason to get married?
No. But I think they might say something about being in love.
Yes. People do seem to talk about that a lot.
But you're a skeptic when it comes to love, is that it?
No. But it's not something I know very much about.
What was that language you and Victoria were speaking?
Spanish.
Spanish. Oh, yeah. How is it that you happen to speak Spanish?
It's what we speak at home.
Your family came from Spain?
Yes.
Recently?
About four hundred years ago.
I see. They must have some terrific memories.
Yes. Why are you staring at me?
Am I staring? Yeah, I am. I'm sorry. Yes, I was staring. It's just that you have the most extraordinary eyes.
At that point a rude, drunken Australian tank soldier asks Sarah to dance and mauls her on the dance floor. Finally, she pushes him away and returns to David's table:
13:00 I'm sorry, I-- I didn't realize he was that drunk.
If you knew he'd been drinking, why didn't you say anything?
Well, he's probably just on a short leave, and he's in a tank division now. Anybody facing going back inside one of those little metal ovens probably has a right to have a couple of drinks, and a-- a dance with a pretty girl.
You think I should let a drunken soldier maul me to show I'm grateful?
No, I'm not implying that. Look, I would've asked you myself, except I can't because of my leg. I'm sorry if it was unpleasant for you.
It doesn't matter. I must be getting home. Would you explain to them?
Don't go away mad. In fact, don't go away at all. Please, sit. Come on.
I must. Really.
When Sarah leaves the Garden Café, the Australian follows her. Both Nessim, who has been spying on Sarah, and David also follow her, and after the Australian knocks Nessim down and tries to assault Sarah, David knocks him out with his walking stick and, wisely, tells Nessim he just happened to be passing by. Sarah accuses Nessim of following her and spying on her, tells him she never wants to see him again, as long as she lives, and leaves. Nessim suggests that he and David have a drink together. He talks about Sarah, his cousin, and observes that she was so angry, and that she can be very stubborn and very fierce.
17:40 In gratitude, Nessim invites David to the large Perrera family weekly Sabbath dinner on Friday evening [September 18th]. Sarah's father Raphael (Avner Hizkiyahu) and Nessim's father are both very curious about David. In response to their questions David explains that his father is a Presbyterian minister in Missoula, Montana, and that he will not be following his father into the ministry. Sarah's grandmother Rosa reads David's tea leaves and tells him that he is a good man, he will live a long, happy life and nothing bad will happen to him. David is clearly attracted to Sarah and she is curious about him.
13:00 I'm sorry, I-- I didn't realize he was that drunk.
If you knew he'd been drinking, why didn't you say anything?
Well, he's probably just on a short leave, and he's in a tank division now. Anybody facing going back inside one of those little metal ovens probably has a right to have a couple of drinks, and a-- a dance with a pretty girl.
You think I should let a drunken soldier maul me to show I'm grateful?
No, I'm not implying that. Look, I would've asked you myself, except I can't because of my leg. I'm sorry if it was unpleasant for you.
It doesn't matter. I must be getting home. Would you explain to them?
Don't go away mad. In fact, don't go away at all. Please, sit. Come on.
I must. Really.
When Sarah leaves the Garden Café, the Australian follows her. Both Nessim, who has been spying on Sarah, and David also follow her, and after the Australian knocks Nessim down and tries to assault Sarah, David knocks him out with his walking stick and, wisely, tells Nessim he just happened to be passing by. Sarah accuses Nessim of following her and spying on her, tells him she never wants to see him again, as long as she lives, and leaves. Nessim suggests that he and David have a drink together. He talks about Sarah, his cousin, and observes that she was so angry, and that she can be very stubborn and very fierce.
17:40 In gratitude, Nessim invites David to the large Perrera family weekly Sabbath dinner on Friday evening [September 18th]. Sarah's father Raphael (Avner Hizkiyahu) and Nessim's father are both very curious about David. In response to their questions David explains that his father is a Presbyterian minister in Missoula, Montana, and that he will not be following his father into the ministry. Sarah's grandmother Rosa reads David's tea leaves and tells him that he is a good man, he will live a long, happy life and nothing bad will happen to him. David is clearly attracted to Sarah and she is curious about him.
David leaves the table after dinner and goes out to the garden. Sarah joins him.
22:20 I want to thank you.
What for? Oh, for breaking my stick over the head of a drunken Australian. Oh...
That also. For not telling Nessim how we met, or about Victoria.
Is it like this every Friday? All these people?
And on high holidays even more. The grandparents from the other side and--
The aunts and the uncles and the nieces and the nephews, and the brothers and the sisters.
We are really a tribe.
What's it like being part of a tribe?
It has good points and bad points, like everything else. Did you like them?
Yeah. Well, they're a little, uh, overwhelming at first, but, ah...
At the Café, when you left, I was following you because I wanted to ask you if you'd be interested in going out with me sometime. If the Aussie hadn't gotten in the way, what would you have said?
No.
Well, what if I asked you right now?
Still, no.
Well, why not? The rumor has it, I'm a very good man with a very promising future. Is-is it Nessim? I know he assumes that one of these days you and he are going to--
What Nessim assumes has nothing to do with me.
Okay. Am I supposed to ask your parents their permission first, is that it?
No, don't.
Nessim walks up with two drinks in his hand.
Oh, there you are. You're keeping our guest of honor for yourself, Sarah?
No, I'm not
And then Sarah leaves. It is clear that, having endured hundreds of years of religious persecution, the Sephardic Jewish community in Jerusalem is highly insular and protective.
24:30 The
following Monday [September 21st] David comes to Sarah's family's home with a box of food [there is probably wartime rationing], flowers for Sarah's grandmother and a request
to Sarah's mother Lea (Gila Almagor) to date Sarah. Lea answers him.
Sarah can do as she wishes.
Then would you like to go out one day this week?
No, Sarah is busy this week.
Perhaps next week, then?
Sarah answers him.
I am busy next week, also.
I seem to have made a mistake.
I think so.
Then David says, curtly:
Kindly thank your mother once again for her hospitality. Goodbye.
[IN LADINO]:
That boy is in love with you.
That's ridiculous.
For once listen to your mother. I forbid you to see him again.
I never intended to see him again. But don't give me orders!
[There is clearly a mother-daughter dynamic between Lea and Sarah. Years earlier Rosa, Sarah's father Raphael's mother, had told Sarah that Lea was pregnant when Raphael married her, that she manipulated her son into the marriage. Lea knows it is common knowledge in the Perrera family and she cannot stand it. So, as the matriarch, she rules the family with an iron fist and dares anyone to challenge her, knowing Raphael, her husband, will support her.]
[Just as a note, the Hebrew name Lea or Leah means delicate or weary. Clearly Sarah's mother is neither, so we can see that naming her Lea is intended to be ironic.]
[The NAAFI acronym on the box that David brings means Navy, Army and Air Force Institutes. It was created by the British government in 1921 to run retail goods and services facilities for British service personnel and their families, like U.S. military post and base exchanges.]
Sarah can do as she wishes.
Then would you like to go out one day this week?
No, Sarah is busy this week.
Perhaps next week, then?
Sarah answers him.
I am busy next week, also.
I seem to have made a mistake.
I think so.
Then David says, curtly:
Kindly thank your mother once again for her hospitality. Goodbye.
[IN LADINO]:
That boy is in love with you.
That's ridiculous.
For once listen to your mother. I forbid you to see him again.
I never intended to see him again. But don't give me orders!
[There is clearly a mother-daughter dynamic between Lea and Sarah. Years earlier Rosa, Sarah's father Raphael's mother, had told Sarah that Lea was pregnant when Raphael married her, that she manipulated her son into the marriage. Lea knows it is common knowledge in the Perrera family and she cannot stand it. So, as the matriarch, she rules the family with an iron fist and dares anyone to challenge her, knowing Raphael, her husband, will support her.]
[Just as a note, the Hebrew name Lea or Leah means delicate or weary. Clearly Sarah's mother is neither, so we can see that naming her Lea is intended to be ironic.]
[The NAAFI acronym on the box that David brings means Navy, Army and Air Force Institutes. It was created by the British government in 1921 to run retail goods and services facilities for British service personnel and their families, like U.S. military post and base exchanges.]
26:40 Sarah and David meet a week later [Monday, September 28th] at Victoria and Peter's wedding ceremony. David is already there when Sarah arrives. After the ceremony and cake-cutting, David takes a second glass of champagne, walks to Sarah and stands beside her. YOUTUBE VIDEO
Sarah observes there are no parents there.
28:10 A wedding with no parents. It seems odd.
Sarah observes there are no parents there.
28:10 A wedding with no parents. It seems odd.
Maybe it's better like this. Nobody's losing a daughter or gaining a son.
You think Victoria's not losing anything?
David takes a third glass of champagne and when he explains why, Sarah displays her clairvoyance:
28:30 Y-you're supposed to get drunk at a wedding.
It's not like you to drink like that.
How do you know?
I know.
[Both Sarah and her grandmother display clairvoyance, in strong contrast to Sarah's mother who uses force but no subtlety.]
David senses Sarah is uncomfortable at the wedding reception.
Uh, look, I wouldn't mind getting out of here, and you're uncomfortable as all get-out. Would you like to take a walk?
Sarah replies, emphatically.
Yes!
29:10 That over there is King David's tomb, so they say. Hmm. Would you like to see it?
Do I have to?
No.
Do I have to?
No.
Good.
What did your family think about you joining the RAF?
Well, my mother died long before that. My brother and sister didn't have an opinion. My-my father was disappointed. He's a pacifist. I was bound to disappoint my father. Joining up just got it over with nice and quick. This is very beautiful.
Yes, it is.
When you told me that you were too busy to see me, was that because of your mother or were you speaking for yourself?
For myself.
Then why the hell didn't you just say so that night after dinner, that you weren't interested?
I did.
No, you implied that it was because of your family. That's why I made such a jackass out of myself coming to ask their permission.
I told you not to.
All you had to say was that you, Sarah, didn't want to see me again. So why did you come to the wedding today?
For Victoria. You think I came because of you?
David smiles and nods 'yes'.
You are very conceited, aren't you?
No. No, I'm not. Look, you think I don't feel it? I was hoping like crazy you were going to come today. but I was also half hoping that you wouldn't, 'cause...
I knew that if I saw you again I would want to go on seeing you. Again and again. And again and again.
It's not possible. And you know it's not.
Okay, I can think of some reasons for myself. But I'd like to hear yours.
You are in Jerusalem for how long? Not very long, I think. Why should I want to get involved with you?
[It is interesting that Sarah's reason has nothing to do with her protective, insular Sephardic Jewish family, or that her parents might reject David because he is a Gentile. It is simply that he is not going to be in Jerusalem long enough to make it worth her effort to get to know him.]
32:00 And there's your-your family. Why would I want to get involved in anything so complicated?
Well, there you are.
I guess we should just stay out of each other's way.
I think so.
Well, come on. I'll take you home in a cab.
No. It's not a good idea.
Then I guess this is goodbye. Goodbye, Sarah.
Goodbye.
This is the fourth time they say goodbye and each time they think it is their last goodbye. Sarah leans forward and kisses David lightly, clearly leaving him confused.
34:10 Meanwhile, having been married less than forty-eight hours, Victoria and Peter are already having newlywed problems related to her Sephardic Jewish family. She wants Peter to take her with him to RAF Alexandria, Egypt, send her home to his family in England where the Battle of Britain is raging, or divorce her. But, continuing to live with her Sephardic Jewish parents after having married a Gentile who is a member of the British forces ruling Palestine is becoming intolerable.
36:30 Remembering that one of Sarah's brothers, Albert, is an amateur boxer and will be fighting one evening [Thursday, October 1st] at the YMCA, David goes to the match, hoping to see Sarah. Not by coincidence, Sarah, her four other brothers and her cousin Nessim are there cheering for him. Then Sarah sees David and, disgusted by the noise and the violence, she gets up, goes to him and they leave together.
38:40 They go dancing at the Garden Café, but one of Sarah's brothers sees them leave the fight together and follows them.
As David and Sarah dance and talk and get to know one another better, inevitably they begin to fall in love. YOUTUBE VIDEO The song they dance to is the 1940 song A Nightingale Sang in Berkeley Square.
Don't look at me like that. It makes me feel... drunk.
I feel... I could look at you forever.
Sarah looks away.
Don't tell me you have to get home.
But I do.
Sarah, every time we meet, it's just to say goodbye.
If I am too late, they will ask questions.
Alright, but this time, I'm taking you.
Don't look at me like that. It makes me feel... drunk.
I feel... I could look at you forever.
Sarah looks away.
Don't tell me you have to get home.
But I do.
Sarah, every time we meet, it's just to say goodbye.
If I am too late, they will ask questions.
Alright, but this time, I'm taking you.
41:00 David
walks with Sarah as far as it is safe, to avoid her family seeing them
together, but they don't know her brother followed them.
This is as far as we can go together.
When can I see you again? I have to see you again. How about the weekend?
I can't leave my house on the Sabbath.
Which Sabbath?
Sarah smiles at him.
My Sabbath. Saturday.
Sunday, then. That's perfect. They never schedule operations for a Sunday.
Sarah asks him, anxiously.
What operations?
Oh, nothing. We take the planes up to make sure they can still fly. I think I can get a car.
David--
This is as far as we can go together.
When can I see you again? I have to see you again. How about the weekend?
I can't leave my house on the Sabbath.
Which Sabbath?
Sarah smiles at him.
My Sabbath. Saturday.
Sunday, then. That's perfect. They never schedule operations for a Sunday.
Sarah asks him, anxiously.
What operations?
Oh, nothing. We take the planes up to make sure they can still fly. I think I can get a car.
David--
No, Sunday. In front of the Café. I'll be there at nine. You get there when you can. I'll wait for you.
And once again they say goodbye and David does not know if he'll see Sarah again. Sarah runs down the alleyway and at the far end turns and waves joyfully to David, waits until he waves back to her and then turns away and disappears around the corner.
46:10 For
their next date, that Sunday, October 4th, David borrows a classic MG-TA Midget roadster, and Sarah suggests they drive to the Ein Gedi Nature Reserve and see the David Waterfall, the tallest waterfall in the Judaean Desert. [In 2022, the Ein Gedi Nature Reserve is a popular Israeli tourist destination. It's about an hour's drive southeast of Jerusalem, first east via highway 1 and then south along the Dead Sea via highway 90.] YOUTUBE VIDEO
Sarah takes David wading near the waterfall. David observes that it is beautiful, but cold.
46:30 This is beautiful. And, ah, cold.
Yes, it's very cold.
Yes, it is. This is very, very cold. Uh, where are you taking me?
You'll see.
Ow! Where? Oh, see, it is cold. Oh!
David slips and falls into the water, dragging Sarah in with him. As she tries to help him up, David splashes water in her face, then apologizes.
Sorry. Told you. It's cold. Oh. You're wet.
[This seems like an attempt by Hanks to turn falling into the water into a comedic pratfall, but it is out of place at that moment. If David is falling in love with Sarah, why would he disrespect her by splashing water in her face? I imagine if the director had been able to do another take, it would have been cut.]
They spend the afternoon drying their clothes in the warm desert air and getting to know one another better.
Is it very strange being so far away from home?
Nope. Felt like a stranger there too. Like I was living in a country with only one citizen. As of now, two citizens today.
Well, I'm honored.
Does this place have a name?
Ein Gedi. It's biblical.
Everything here is biblical. Ein Gedi, that's Saul and David. Huh, we Presbyterians, we know our Bible.
Especially the son of a priest. I forgot about that.
Yeah. Well, we call them, uh, ministers. Or parsons, or, uh, reverends. The Reverend. The Reverend Thomas Bradley.
Tell me about your father.
My father? He's a very admirable man. He's very principled. I don't suppose you know what the Grange Movement is. Do you? No, of course not. He's a... he's a socialist. You know what that is, right?
Really? Every Russian and Polish Jew in Palestine is a socialist.
Yeah, well, not your family.
Sarah chuckles and then answers, wryly.
Good heavens, no. To share everything and be poor together, this is madness.
David chuckles.
Good heavens, no. To share everything and be poor together, this is madness.
David chuckles.
Then Sarah remembers that on their first walk, after they had left Peter and Victoria's wedding reception, David had admitted to her that he was bound to disappoint his father.
Why were you bound to disappoint him?
Well, he, uh... Because my father believes that God is just and merciful. And that the world can be remade in his image.
And you don't? Hmm?
Ah, I think God has a lot to answer for. And I don't think you can change the world. Not much, anyway.
49:00 Then Sarah leans over and kisses David softly. It is this conversation at Ein Gedi that convinces Sarah that David is a kindred spirit, that he is honorable and principled, but he is not ruled by his religion like her insular, matriarchal Sephardic Jewish community is. This is when she really begins to fall in love with him.
Sarah tells David she cannot go home looking so disheveled, so he suggests they go to his pension room and she can get cleaned up. He assures that nobody will disturb her in the bath, not even him.
49:20 Well, this is the place.
Are you sure it's alright?
You're the one who said you couldn't go home looking like this. The bath is completely private. No one will disturb you, not even me. If you need anything, just, uh, holler.
Sarah comes out of the bathroom, kisses David, puts her purse down and holds his head in her hands. They lie down on the bed together.
52:00 David begins to unzip the back of Sarah's dress, but she lies back and sighs. He realizes she is not yet ready to make love with him:
Don't be angry. Please. But I have to...
I know. I know. You have to get back home.
You're angry.
No. No, I'm not angry. Tomorrow?
Yes.
Don't be angry. Please. But I have to...
I know. I know. You have to get back home.
You're angry.
No. No, I'm not angry. Tomorrow?
Yes.
When?
After work?
Here?
Yes.
53:20 They agree to meet Monday afternoon after work, but as Sarah is leaving, four of her brothers
burst into David's room. They abduct Sarah, and Albert hits David twice, knocking him out briefly.
56:00 Back
at Sarah's home, Sarah's mother and four of her brothers interrogate her, slap her and call her a prostitute while her father Raphael, Nessim and her fifth brother Joseph (Alon Aboutboul) come to her defense. Sarah knows her mother is being purposely hysterical, to demonstrate her power in their family which is clearly a matriarchy, and to show she can incite her sons to violence, but it is an awakening for Sarah to see what insensitivity and brutality they are capable of. Sarah does the only thing she can do, which is to suffer in silence. [In retrospect we can see that Lea, Sarah's mother, may be a sociopath.]
[The Australian tank soldier assault scene, the boxing match scene and this interrogation scene are the only three scenes with any real violence, and they are all short, although given Cristina Marsillach's experience with violence in other films, she is obviously comfortable with this scene, executes it well and is totally believable.]
[The Australian tank soldier assault scene, the boxing match scene and this interrogation scene are the only three scenes with any real violence, and they are all short, although given Cristina Marsillach's experience with violence in other films, she is obviously comfortable with this scene, executes it well and is totally believable.]
1:00:40 The
next morning, Monday, October 5th, Sarah awakens to discover that her mother has taken all of
her clothes and her shoes and she is virtually a prisoner in her own
home.
When Sarah comes down to the kitchen to confront her mother, Lea taunts her, telling her she does not need clothes because she is not going anywhere, but if she did go out without clothes Lea would not be surprised.
1:03:10 That
same morning David comes to see Sarah. Lea refuses to let him in, accusing him of ruining her daughter, and telling him if he does not leave she will call the police. David
gives her a letter for Sarah, which she tears up.
David
then pushes his way into the house while Lea tells her other
daughter Clara to go and call her sons, and warns David that they will come
and kill him. David silently warns Lea, wagging his finger in her face,
then pushes his way to the bottom of the stairs and calls to Sarah, telling
her he has to leave for RAF Alexandria the following day [Tuesday, October 6th] but he will
come back and they will work everything out. And then he leaves. Sarah hears him, but
by the time she puts her robe on and comes downstairs he is gone, and
her mother has locked the door. Sarah tries and fails to wrest the key
from Lea, so she goes to the open window and calls to David, but
he is too far away to hear her.
[Some viewers might question why David is not more concerned about Lea's threat to have her sons kill him. This is 1942 and the British have had a League of Nations Mandate to govern Palestine since 1920. Also it is World War II and David is an RAF officer who was assaulted in his own residence by Lea's son Albert. They know that David could file charges against Albert for assault and have him arrested and jailed, if he really wanted to. But David is only interested in Sarah and he is reluctant to do anything that might cause her to be sympathetic to her brothers. So his silent warning to Lea is not an empty threat and she knows it.]
[Some viewers might question why David is not more concerned about Lea's threat to have her sons kill him. This is 1942 and the British have had a League of Nations Mandate to govern Palestine since 1920. Also it is World War II and David is an RAF officer who was assaulted in his own residence by Lea's son Albert. They know that David could file charges against Albert for assault and have him arrested and jailed, if he really wanted to. But David is only interested in Sarah and he is reluctant to do anything that might cause her to be sympathetic to her brothers. So his silent warning to Lea is not an empty threat and she knows it.]
Sarah looks at Lea and says, in Ladino, He's gone. This is when she realizes she cannot have David, whom she loves. She decides to marry within the Sephardic Jewish community, but first she will have one night of passion with David. This is a pivotal scene in the film.
1:06:40 Late
that same Monday night, Sarah ties several bed sheets together and slides down from her bedroom balcony, with
the help of her brother Joseph. She has decided to accept her Sephardic culture and traditions and marry her cousin Nessim. Tonight will be the last night she will see David.
Joseph has tried and failed to discover where Lea has hidden Sarah's clothes, so he has borrowed some clothes from his girlfriend. YOUTUBE VIDEO
Joseph has tried and failed to discover where Lea has hidden Sarah's clothes, so he has borrowed some clothes from his girlfriend. YOUTUBE VIDEO
1:08:00 Barefoot and in borrowed clothes, Sarah waits for David in his pension room. When he returns to the pension Mrs. Finkelstein tells him that she let the young lady wait in his room because she couldn't wait in the lobby barefoot. David runs upstairs, throws open the door and they embrace.
I almost didn't come back here. I almost went out and got drunk instead.
But you didn't.
David looks at her, the strange way she is dressed, and barefoot.
They took my clothes.
You walked here like that?
I had to see you one last time. I must look --
David thinks she means one last time before he leaves for Alexandria, but Sarah really means one last time forever, as we shall see.
Adorable. Damn it, why can't you look terrible? I've been out walking the streets, trying to convince myself I wasn't in love with you. I come back here and you - you're, you're barefoot, and you're adorable.
They embrace and David confesses he loves her.
Today was the worst day I've ever spent. I think of not seeing you again. Sarah, I love you.
Shhh.
I wanted to tell you last night when you were here.
Are they really sending you back to the war?
Egypt. But it's not that far away. I'll come back as often as I can. I'll write you every day. I'll dream of you every --
No, don't.
What do you mean? What's wrong?
Promise me.
Wh -- What? Anything!
Promise me you won't come back.
What are you talking about?
You said 'anything.'
I just told you I love you.
I can't stay if you don't promise...
Sarah loves David but she is ready to choose duty instead of love, and marry Nessim. But she will spend the night making love with David if he promises never to return to Jerusalem. This is also insurance in case she becomes pregnant. If she marries Nessim in the next six weeks nobody will know she was pregnant when she married him.
Are you trying to drive me crazy?
Please, promise me!
Alright, if that's what you want, I promise.
Don't look so miserable. I'm here, and I can stay all night. If you really knew how much I love you.
Sarah is going to ask Nessim to marry her the next morning, after she leaves David, even though she does not love him, because she is submitting to her parents and marrying within the Sephardic Jewish community.
Sarah is willing to make the sacrifice and ruin her life just to have one night of love with David. Her fear is that if David does come back to her, Nessim will know she and David are in love and her marriage to him is a lie. David does not understand the sacrifice she is making, but he loves her so he agrees to her demand.
1:10:20 After they make love, David does not want to let her go. He begins to plead with her but she again displays clairvoyance. This is the most poignant, heart-wrenching scene in the film. It certainly is the time of greatest vulnerability in a new relationship, the afterglow just after two people have made love for the first time.
Sarah...
No, don't say it.
But, how do you know?
I know.
Just a postcard. When the war's over. So you'll know I made it.
I already know you will. I don't need a postcard.
But, after the war is over.
By then, you won't even remember.
You're nuts, you know that? You're just plain nuts!
But you still love me anyway.
Yes.
Say it, then.
I love you.
And, I love you.
1:12:40 Early the following morning [Tuesday, October 6th], while David is still asleep, Sarah leaves him and goes to her aunt and uncle's home to talk with her cousin Nessim. She asks him if he will marry her, even though she hints that she is no longer a virgin, and she admits that she doesn't really love him, not even a little. Nessim's response is that he doesn't care about her past, that he has enough love for both of them and he will gladly marry her.
1:15:40 When David awakens, Sarah has already gone, although she had promised to say goodbye to him. The military transport truck arrives to take him to Atarot Airfield so he can fly back to RAF Alexandria, so he has no time to look for her.
1:16:50 Six weeks later David is shown landing at RAF Alexandria after a combat mission. He is flying a Hawker Hurricane [but the aircraft used is actually a P-51 Mustang]. As he leaves the aircraft his crew chief asks:
You all right, Sir?
Yeah. Baxter bought it.
Bailed out?
Burned.
[This is factually accurate. The Hawker Hurricane has a large fuel tank just behind the engine and in front of the cockpit. If an incendiary round hit the fuel tank it would explode and the pilot would have only two choices - jump out of the aircraft and hope his parachute opens, or stay in the cockpit and be burned to death. This is described in this YouTube video about the Hawker Hurricane.]
1:20:10 Soon afterwards, on the morning of Monday, November 16th, David and Peter are in their barracks at RAF Alexandria, discussing what to do with a three-day pass. Peter wants to go to the beach, since Victoria's father, in Jerusalem, is in the process of getting their marriage annulled. David, on the other hand, wants to go to Jerusalem although he knows it will take two out of the three days just to get there and back. Then Peter shows David a letter from Victoria in which she says that Sarah is getting married three days later, on Thursday [November 19th]. David decides then that he absolutely must go to Jerusalem and demand that Sarah give him an explanation.
1:20:40 The following day, Tuesday, Sarah tries on her wedding dress, assisted by the dressmaker and her mother, while her grandmother looks on. Rosa wonders if Sarah is having second thoughts. She has known for some time that Sarah is in love with David. They have talked about it more than once. Sarah responds that she doesn't have second thoughts, she just feels like she's drowning - she is ignoring her own feelings and is accepting parental pressure to marry within the Sephardic community, so she is grief stricken and Rosa knows it. The only advice she can offer Sarah is this.
If you feel you're making a mistake... better to admit it now than to ruin the rest of your life.
If you feel you're making a mistake... better to admit it now than to ruin the rest of your life.
1:23:40 David has the three-day pass but he cannot get a seat on the Monday six a.m. flight to Atarot Airfield. So, he spends an exhausting thirty-six hours Monday morning to Tuesday evening traveling 240 miles by military truck from Alexandria through Cairo to north of Ismailia (red dot on the map), then hitchhiking another 220 miles through the Sinai Desert to Rafah, then Gaza, and on to Jerusalem, a total of 460 miles. You can see by the length of the shadows, it is Monday afternoon when the military truck drops David off outside of Ismailia. It will be late Tuesday by the time he arrives in Jerusalem.
[In 2023 you cannot drive this route because the Rafah border crossing into the Gaza Strip is closed. You have to go southeast through Cairo and Suez, across the Sinai to Eilat on the Gulf of Aqaba, then north up highway 90 beside the Dead Sea, then west on highway 1 to Jerusalem. It is 600 miles and takes twelve hours to drive.]
David goes to Victoria's home Tuesday night and crashes on her sofa, totally exhausted. Their next conversation is early Wednesday morning, even before David has had a chance to shave and get cleaned up. [The building with the tower and the blue, conical roof seen through the window behind David and Victoria is the Dormition Abbey and Basilica on Mt. Zion. The position indicates that the Sasson residence, Victoria's home, is east of the Old City, possibly in the Armenian Quarter.] Victoria says that Sarah is going to marry Nessim although it is clear to them both that she doesn't love him. David and Victoria go for a walk and David wonders what he is doing there, that he should have stayed in Alexandria, gone swimming and just drowned himself. YOUTUBE VIDEO
1:24:20 Now it is Wednesday [November 18th] the day before Sarah is going to marry Nessim. Victoria tries to reason with her, to convince her to at least talk to David, but Sarah says she is angry with him because he broke his promise to forget her.
By coming back to Jerusalem and telling Victoria that he wants to understand why Sarah doesn't love him and is marrying someone else, which Victoria relays to Sarah, David is putting Sarah's plan at risk. Sarah knows David will be at Victoria's home until he has to leave to go to Atarot Airfield for his six a.m. flight the following morning, Thursday, so all she has to do is wait until he leaves.
1:27:00 Later that same afternoon, Sarah's father sees David walking with Victoria, so he has a
heart-to-heart talk with Sarah. He cannot understand why she is in such a
hurry to marry Nessim when the family is not pressuring her to do so. He
wonders if it is because of David. Sarah tells him she feels like she is drowning. [This is the third time Sarah and David have used the metaphor of drowning to convey their feelings of overwhelming sorrow or grief.]
Then her father tells Sarah that if she chooses David she will be cutting herself off from her family, he will not be able to help her and she will no longer be his daughter. [He will have no choice but to support his wife Lea, who runs the family - it is a matriarchy - even though she called Sarah a prostitute and accused her of ruining her mother's life.] This brings tears to Sarah's eyes because she loves David but she knows she has to give him up and bow to her parents' wishes that she marry within the Sephardic community.
Then her father tells Sarah that if she chooses David she will be cutting herself off from her family, he will not be able to help her and she will no longer be his daughter. [He will have no choice but to support his wife Lea, who runs the family - it is a matriarchy - even though she called Sarah a prostitute and accused her of ruining her mother's life.] This brings tears to Sarah's eyes because she loves David but she knows she has to give him up and bow to her parents' wishes that she marry within the Sephardic community.
1:29:00 Early Thursday morning Sarah contemplates her future, symbolized by the wedding dress hanging next to her bed. She knows she is going to marry Nessim and the only question in her mind is if she can risk seeing David before he leaves at six a.m. Finally, she decides she must see David once more, tell him she is going to marry Nessim, end their relationship and wish him well. YOUTUBE VIDEO
1:30:00 Sarah goes to Victoria's home, hoping to find David. She pauses outside the gate to Victoria's home. She knows she has to do this but she doesn't want to. She knocks on the door and Victoria answers and tells her that he has already left.
Where is he?
He's gone.
Where?
To Atarot Airport. He said he had to take a plane back to Alexandria.
But you said he'd be here in the morning.
He must have left earlier. His plane takes off only at six.
1:30:30 Sarah realizes that telling David the truth and saying goodbye to him one last time is going to be harder than she thought it would be. Coming down the stairs from Victoria's home she collapses in tears.
1:31:00 Sarah
goes to the Garden Café, behind the King David Hotel, with the outdoor bandstand and dance floor, where they
had first met and had later danced and had begun to fall in love. This is where David and Victoria had
agreed he would wait for Sarah. From a distance she sees him and realizes that this is probably the last time they will ever see each other. Then the clock strikes five a.m. and as he
gets up to leave, Sarah calls out to him.
1:31:30 David!
David is understandably frustrated. He spent all day Monday and Tuesday hitchhiking the 460 miles from RAF Alexandria to Jerusalem, and Wednesday trying to get Sarah to talk to him and explain why she is going to marry Nessim. Now, Thursday morning [November 19th], just as he has to leave for Atarot Airfield, she appears, with a tear falling from one eye.
Look, I've realized that I don't want an explanation.
I don't have any.
David is understandably frustrated. He spent all day Monday and Tuesday hitchhiking the 460 miles from RAF Alexandria to Jerusalem, and Wednesday trying to get Sarah to talk to him and explain why she is going to marry Nessim. Now, Thursday morning [November 19th], just as he has to leave for Atarot Airfield, she appears, with a tear falling from one eye.
Look, I've realized that I don't want an explanation.
I don't have any.
Well, that's good. That's good. Fine!
Well, I'd like to stay and chat, but I have to go catch a plane.
1:32:20 He
walks away from her, then slams his duffel bag down on the ground in frustration, strides back to her and says, angrily:
You cannot marry anybody else. Do you hear me? You can't!
Sarah agrees with him, acknowledging that she cannot marry anybody else. However, at the same time she is saying it, she knows that she is committed to marrying Nessim.
No, I can't.
No, I can't.
1:32:40 Incredulous, David cannot believe what she is saying. He wants to believe that he really is the one she wants, however, the thought that she might be lying to him and planning to marry Nessim, does occur to him. He responds, fiercely:
Don't say that unless you mean it!
Sarah chuckles.
Uh...
1:32:50 They embrace and kiss. She knows she is deceiving him, that she is going to marry Nessim, but she loves David so much she wants to enjoy the fantasy of being able to wait for him for just one more minute.
1:33:00 I'll be here waiting for you.
I'll come back as soon as I can from wherever it is they send me. Burma, Australia, Antarctica! I wish I could tell you when.
It doesn't matter when. If it takes a hundred years, I'll be here.
I know. You have to go.
I'll write you every day.
I'll write you, too. But where?
I don't know. I'll have to send that to you in my first letter. What about you? Where will you live? Do you need any money?
Stop worrying about me. I'll be fine. You take care of yourself.
Oh, don't worry. Nothing bad can happen. Your grandmother promised. I have to, uh...
I'll write you every day.
I'll write you, too. But where?
I don't know. I'll have to send that to you in my first letter. What about you? Where will you live? Do you need any money?
Stop worrying about me. I'll be fine. You take care of yourself.
Oh, don't worry. Nothing bad can happen. Your grandmother promised. I have to, uh...
Go.
Come with me to the field?
Yes!
Come on! Come on!
1:34:00 It is not clear if she thought she would have to go to Atarot Airfield, eight miles north of Jerusalem, to say goodbye to him, but when he asks her to come to the field with him, she agrees. As they run to find a cab to take them to the airfield, we again hear their haunting theme song: A Nightingale Sang in Berkeley Square.
These are the final images of David and Sarah, waving goodbye to each other. His face is filled with doubt, not knowing if she will actually wait for him. Her face mirrors the anguish she feels, knowing she has lied to him. She plans to marry Nessim later that day and she will never see David again.
The film's ending is tragic, and I could not accept it. I could not believe that Sarah would be willing to sacrifice her love affair with David for a lifetime without it, or that she would believe she had to marry someone from within her own religious community. I wanted Sarah and David to find happiness together, and if it wasn't going to happen in the film, then it would happen in a sequel.
So, I was inspired to write a sequel. What makes it possible is that Sarah and David are in love, she lied to him because she couldn't bear to break his heart, and she is only marrying Nessim because she believes she has no other choice. So, the sequel begins with her decision to postpone her wedding for a month. If you accept that premise, then I believe you will find the sequel much more satisfying than the film on which it is based.
INACCURACIES IN THE FILM
At 05:00 Peter and David have a conversation in the Pension Ada room that Peter has been renting and wants David to rent. Peter tells David that an American military attaché wants to know if David would like to change uniforms - leave the RAF and join the USAAF. And David says he is not interested. There are two things wrong here, but since the plot depends on David saying no, they cannot be corrected. First, it is likely David would not have been given a choice; if he refused to join the USAAF he could have been prosecuted under the U.S. Neutrality Act. And, second, military pay was significantly better in the USAAF than in the RAF. So David would have had no incentive to remain in the RAF.
At 46:00 the convertible that David drives in his Ein Gedi Nature Reserve adventure with Sarah is supposed to be a pre-war MG-TA Midget roadster, which had large wire wheels. The MG-TA was built in 1936-39, but the production crew likely could not find one. What David actually drives is a post-war MG-TD Midget roadster which was made in 1950-53 and has smaller solid wheels. Also, David and Sarah are driving with the windshield down, obviously to make it easier for the camera crew to film them.
At 1:07:00 David returns to his room at Pension Ada to find Sarah waiting for him. He is wearing a grey RAF uniform. According to one source, RAF officers in the 1940s only had blue uniforms, not grey.
At 1:16:50 David is shown landing at RAF Alexandria in what is supposed to be a Hawker Hurricane. However, this aircraft has a squared-off, flat-top vertical stabilizer, whereas the Hurricane and Spitfire have rounded ones, so this aircraft is actually a North American P-51 Mustang. The P-51 was not used by the RAF Desert Air Force as it was too new and with its external fuel tanks had the range to escort Allied bomber groups attacking German targets from England all the way to Berlin, a distance of about 600 miles.
At 1:33:00 In the final scene of the film David and Sarah are shown at the Garden Café just before David has to leave for Atarot Airfield. Then they are shown running east down the hill toward the Dormition Basilica and Abbey.
The ending implies that David and Sarah are running to Atarot Airfield when, in fact, they are running to find a cab to take them there because the airfield is eight miles north of their location. Two seconds after this, they run across the path and appear to stop in the shadows, waiting for filming of the scene to end. The problem is that to find a cab, or cab stand, they have to get to a street, which means running north (left) or south (right) along the path. But they just stop. This is the director's fault. He should have directed them to run out of the scene to either the left or right when they got to the path.
Atarot Airfield is located eight miles north of the center of Jerusalem. It was opened in 1924, and was actually called Qalandiya (or Kalandiya) Airport during the British Mandate, when it was used by the RAF. Between the War of Independence (1948) and the Six-Day War (1967) it was under Jordanian control and was called Jerusalem Airport. After 1967 it reverted to Israeli control and was renamed Atarot Airfield after Moshav Atarot who had owned the land. It was closed to civilian air traffic in 2000 after the Al-Aqsa Intifada Palestinian uprising, and is currently in ruins and abandoned. Civilian air traffic uses Tel Aviv Ben Gurion International Airport (TLV), 35 miles northwest of Jerusalem.
DVD COVER ART: There were no bombers in the film, although the B-17 Flying Fortress on the front cover art was used by the Allies in the North Africa campaign of World War II. The small picture of an Avro Lancaster heavy bomber being escorted by a Hawker Hurricane fighter on the back cover art is inaccurate because the Lancaster was never used by the RAF Desert Air Force in North Africa.
Labels: cross-cultural, drama, romance, rom-drama-faves, Tom Hanks, WWII
IMDb 58/100
RottenTomatoes Averages (critics=tbd,viewers=62)
Wikipedia
Sony Pictures
Vera Lynn - A Nightingale Sang in Berkeley Square 1969
Script from SubsLikeScript.com
Script from Scripts.com
YouTube mauipeterb playlist of all eight videos
Amazon Prime Users 4.3/5 stars
Interview with director Moshe Mizrahi
Alamy stock photos of Moshe Mizrahi and the film
Origin of the name Perera/Perrera/Pereira
History of the Perrera family name
14 Ladino (Judeo-Spanish) Phrases Every Jew Should Know
CRISTINA MARSILLACH: PROMOTING THE FILM IN 2021
Sometime in late 2020 or early 2021, Cristina made a short video promoting the film for a showing on 18 February 2021 as part of the 5th Ciclo de Cine Sefardai de Argentina (probably Buenos Aires). The video is available on YouTube and is only 2min 25sec in length.
This video is very important because it proves conclusively that Sarah was planning to marry her Sephardic cousin Nessim and would never see David again. It clears up any ambiguity left at the end of the film, that Sarah might not marry Nessim, but rather wait for David.
Cristina's English is accented, so I translated the Spanish close captioning and then listened to her voice while reading the English. This is as close as I could get:
"I am Cristina Marsillach, the actress. The film is Every Time We Say Goodbye co-starring Tom Hanks and Moshe Mizrahi. Tom was a gentleman and a very good screen partner, and Moshe was a great director and a very sweet man.
It is a romantic drama that involves the rigid customs and traditions of the Jewish community for a very significant period in time.
In my role as Jewish woman of Spanish origin sensitive to tradition I am faced with an impossible love because my family did not agree.
However, I effect (make) the decision of not seeing the American pilot again, and say goodbye with no tears and with a smile of confidence and affection.
That was a demonstration of personal rooted sentiment, and a deep understanding of family, very special to see the importance of principles surrounding family and culture.
It was a discovery for me and in particular the great role of woman in families because I think that since this acceptance was easy because it was a very intimate time for me.
The Ladino language that we spoke in our origins in Spain and therefore within the family, it will come out spontaneously at home.
I am grateful that you have counted on me to present this film which gave in its essential, timeless values that the Jewish community will fully maintain.
It is a very fitting film because we have to keep well in mind this ???. I encourage you to watch it during this Fifth Cycle of Sephardic Cinema. Thank you very much. Thank you."
CRISTINA MARSILLACH: A BRIEF BIOGRAPHY
Born September 30th, 1963 in Madrid, Cristina was 22 when she made Every Time We Say Goodbye in February of 1986 in Jerusalem. She took on roles in both Spanish and Italian. Both her father, Adolfo Marsillach, and mother, Teresa del Rio, had an acting history in Spain, and, in fact, Cristina occasionally acted with her mother or her younger sister, Blanca Marsillach.
It is interesting to note that Cristina began acting in 1976 when she was thirteen. In 1994, when she was 31, eight years after making Every Time We Say Goodbye, she stepped away from acting and a public life for 24 years, becoming virtually a ghost. Then, in 2018, she began making a short film titled Simple Like Silver. She said, in an interview that she stepped away from acting because she had gotten married and she wanted to do other kinds of creative things in her life besides acting.
Perhaps it is just speculation, but I cannot help thinking there is more to it than that. However, since I cannot read Spanish I cannot do much research on the subject. But I believe it is possible that the kind of roles Cristina took, violent, erotic, horror and slashers / thrillers, were an attempt to win her father's approval. And then, in 1994 at the age of 31, perhaps she decided she had made a mistake and her only course of action was to drop out of the film industry. Maybe someday she will write an autobiography and we will find out.
Here is the link to the IMDb page for Simple Like Silver. Here is trailer #2 for Simple Like Silver.
Cristina Marsillach interview part 1Cristina on YouTube
Cristina's character Sarah Perrera from the film
Internet photos of Cristina Marsillach
Martin Scorsese Armani commercial (1986) with Cristina Marsillach
Alamy stock photos of Cristina Marsillach
Interview with Damian K Lahey discussing Cristina Marsillach
Cristina's six best films - YouTube video opinion
Phantom of the Opera - the Return of Cristina Marsillach
Cristina Marsillach during filming of Simple Like Silver (2021)
Interview with Damian K Lahey discussing Cristina Marsillach
Cristina's six best films - YouTube video opinion
Phantom of the Opera - the Return of Cristina Marsillach
Cristina Marsillach during filming of Simple Like Silver (2021)
Cristina's mother Teresa del Rio was born in 1937. She was an actress and beauty contest participant, has 35 acting credits in her filmography and was also elected Miss Spain in 1960 when she was 23. She was married to Adolfo Marsillach from 1962 to 1970, and gave birth to two daughters, Cristina (b. 1963) and Blanca (b. 1966).
TOM HANKS: A BRIEF BIOGRAPHY
Tom Hanks was born on July 9th, 1956, and married his first wife, college sweetheart and actress Samantha Lewes, in January of 1978, when he was 21 and she was 24. They had two children, Colin and Elizabeth, separated in 1984 due to irreconcilable differences (the stated reason was that they were simply too young to deal with the stresses of being budding young actors, married and parents) and divorced in March of 1987. Hanks met his current wife, Rita Wilson, on the set of Bosom Buddies in 1981, and they fell in love in August of 1985 while they were starring in and playing lovers in Volunteers.
A quote from Tom Hanks from his IMDb full bio:
One of the things that I do in acting and movies is I assemble a very intricate backstory, the stuff that happens before the movie. I don't tell anybody this. I don't write it down. It's not like I get together with the director or screenwriter and say "You know what this guy went through?" You don't do that. But you put it together in your head so that every single movie moment that you are called upon to recreate, to make manifest on the set, has come from a specific place.
FILMING LOCATIONS
These are the exterior locations I am trying to identify. I will label them when they are identified. Obviously, the Dormition Basilica and the Dormition Abbey are prominent landmarks in Old City Jerusalem, Israel.
The Dormition Basilica and Abbey with the Montefiore Windmill in the foreground, taken southeast at sunrise. Although the film is set in Jerusalem in September of 1943, this was probably filmed between December of 1985 and February of 1986. The IMDb locations page says that the King David Hotel in Jerusalem was used, so the opening scene of the film was very likely filmed from that location.
Pension Ada.
The Garden Café.
Sarah walking down the slope from the Garden Café.
According to Michal Bat-Adam, widow of writer/director Moshe Mizrahi, and a well-known Israeli actress, the location of the Garden Café is the park just behind (east) of the King David Hotel. In this map the King David Hotel is in the upper left corner and the Dormition Basilica and Abbey are in the right center.
It seems perfectly logical that there would be a Garden Café in the park behind the King David Hotel. The hotel was built in 1931 and the southern wing contained the administrative offices of British Mandatory Palestine. That is why that wing of the hotel was bombed by the Irgun on July 22, 1946, killing 91 British administrative personnel. Although the film was made in 1986, it was set in September, 1942, and a Garden Café situated behind the hotel, especially for the use of administrative personnel and Allied military troops seems logical.
David taking a cab to the Perrera family home.
David taking a cab to the Perrera family home.
David and Sarah taking a walk to King David's Tomb after Peter and Victoria's wedding reception.
David walking Sarah home after they dance at the Garden Café.
The David Waterfall at the Ein Gedi Nature Reserve.
David and Victoria at the Sasson residence, her family home. Dormition Basilica and Abbey in the background. Note that they are reversed, which means Victoria's home is situated to the east of the old city, possibly in the Armenian Quarter, while the Garden Café is to the west.
David and Victoria walking.
David at the Garden Café.
David and Sarah running to catch a cab to take them to Atarot Airfield. Note the crenelated wall in the upper center, and the Dormition Basilica and Abbey in the upper right. The picture beneath this one has been brightened and with higher contrast.
Sarah waving goodbye to David at Jerusalem Airport (Atarot Airfield, also known as Qalandiya Airport, located eight miles north of the center of Jerusalem).
Copyright © 2022, 2023, 2024 by Peter A Bock. mauipeterb at hotmail dot com
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