Romeo and Juliet in Yiddish

IMDb RATING

6.8/10

YOUR RATING

The play Romeo and Juliet has been translated around the world. Now Eve AnnenbergÂ’s gritty, funny new feature film sets William Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet in contemporary New York City with Brooklyn-inflected English and Yiddish spoken by a talented cast. Ava, a wisecracking middle-aged E.R. nurseÂ—and bitterly lapsed Orthodox JewÂ—undertakes a translation of ShakespeareÂ’s Romeo and Juliet (from old Yiddish to new Yiddish) in her pursuit of a Master's degree. In over her head, she accepts help from some charismatic and ethically challenged (a.k.a. scamming), charming young Ultra Orthodox dropouts, Lazer and Mendy. When another ex-Orthodox leaver enchants her apartment with Kabbalah magic that he is leaking due to over-studying, the boys begin to live ShakespeareÂ’s play in their heads, in a gauzy and beautiful alternate reality where everyone is Orthodox.

Â“Romeo and Juliet in Yiddish tucks ShakespeareÂ’s tale of greatest woe into a story of intra-Judaic culture clash in present day BrooklynÂ….ItÂ’s premise is charming and not at all far-fetched. Anyone who loves Â“West Side StoryÂ” knows that New York is full of warring tribes and clans to serve as Montagues and CapuletsÂ….Ms. Annenberg aims for (and often achieves) the energy and inventiveness of an improvised, process-driven group project. The movie is always interesting to watch, but you come away with the distinct feeling that it was absolutely thrilling to make.Â”

Â—A.O. Scott, The New York Times

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Romeo and Juliet in Yiddish is a gritty, funny love story about charismatic and wayward Satmar Hasid youth who encounter Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet when they help a jaded NYC emergency r... Read allRomeo and Juliet in Yiddish is a gritty, funny love story about charismatic and wayward Satmar Hasid youth who encounter Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet when they help a jaded NYC emergency room nurse with the play's translation.Romeo and Juliet in Yiddish is a gritty, funny love story about charismatic and wayward Satmar Hasid youth who encounter Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet when they help a jaded NYC emergency room nurse with the play's translation.

See production info at IMDbPro

IMDb RATING

6.8/10

YOUR RATING

See production info at IMDbPro

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Trailer 1:26

ROMEO AND JULIET IN YIDDISH

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User reviews6

Review

Featured review

9/10

loved all the elements

There is an argument I've heard about this film that there are too many side plots, but I found that not to be the case. I actually really appreciated the kabbalistic aspect of the plot (such as the concept of "two worlds", it's fun to speculate what happened to the other two worlds, my take is that that is reflected in the directors vision and the audiences experience of the story)

The film treats most of its characters like people. The emotions are intense and believable, and the music is great. I am familiar with the world that these characters inhabit so I appreciated the film on that level, I don't know what it would look like to someone who is not Jewish, I want to compare the overall experience to John Cameron Mitchell's Shortbus, but I don't know why..