Hester Street (1975)

Synopsis: The desire to shed or suppress all traces of one's original culture has been a primal experience of nearly all immigrants; Joan Micklin Silver's adaptation of Abraham Cahan's story makes clear that it's a process edged with pathos. Carol Kane stars as Gitl, an Eastern European Jew who arrives... The desire to shed or suppress all traces of one's original culture has been a primal experience of nearly all immigrants; Joan Micklin Silver's adaptation of Abraham Cahan's story makes clear that it's a process edged with pathos. Carol Kane stars as Gitl, an Eastern European Jew who arrives with her child on Ellis Island in 1896 to join her husband, Jake (Stephen Keats). She is surprised to discover that Jake has abandoned the mores of his culture by cutting off his beard and earlocks, and he's adopted the mannerisms of his new country, including a new girlfriend (Dorrie Kavanaugh) who runs a dance hall. Gitl, unwilling to part with traditions so easily, creates a rift in the marriage that is difficult to overcome. Kane, who was nominated for an Oscar, and Micklin Silver, in her directorial debut, collaborate to high-caliber effect in this touching, amazingly painstaking evocation of immigrant life on New York's Lower East Side in the 1890s. [More]