Last year we had our eyes open to one of Europe’s finest events on the film calendar, at the annual Black Nights Film Festival in Tallinn, Estonia. Needless to say after our last visit we were grateful to be invited back for the 2023 edition; the festival’s 27th year.
Taking place a little earlier in November, while the nights were still black (as advertised), the weather was crisp. Less snow, more sun – and a lot less slipping over on the icy cobbles. Another notable difference for our visit to the Estonian capital this year was that we went at the very start of the 16-day festival, able to experience and appreciate the opening night ceremony, which was a real highlight of our stay.
Taking place at the Alexela concert hall, the film was Guardians of the Formula, by Serbian filmmaker Dragan Bjelogrlic, which tells the fascinating true story of a secretive,...
Taking place a little earlier in November, while the nights were still black (as advertised), the weather was crisp. Less snow, more sun – and a lot less slipping over on the icy cobbles. Another notable difference for our visit to the Estonian capital this year was that we went at the very start of the 16-day festival, able to experience and appreciate the opening night ceremony, which was a real highlight of our stay.
Taking place at the Alexela concert hall, the film was Guardians of the Formula, by Serbian filmmaker Dragan Bjelogrlic, which tells the fascinating true story of a secretive,...
- 11/27/2023
- by Stefan Pape
- HeyUGuys.co.uk
Just like Romeo and Juliet, the title characters in "Solomon & Gaenor" embark on a doomed love affair of classically drawn proportions.
But thanks to first-time feature filmmaker Paul Morrison's insightful, carefully nuanced script and tender performances by a well-
chosen cast, this affecting story about the ill-fated romance between a Welsh miner's daughter and an Orthodox Jewish storekeeper's son at the turn of the 20th century has plenty of atmosphere to compensate for any predictability.
An Oscar nominee this year for best foreign language film (courtesy of the subtitled Welsh and Yiddish dialogue mixed in with the English), the Sony Pictures Classics release should attract a solid art house following and establish documentarian and practicing psychotherapist Morrison as a promising new talent.
Ioan Gruffudd is Solomon, the eldest son in a Jewish immigrant family whose parents run a pawnshop with a fabric-peddling business on the side. While on one of his door-to-door excursions in the local Welsh Valley, he meets and immediately becomes smitten with Gaenor (Nia Roberts), whose father (William Thomas) and prone-to-
violence brother Mark Lewis Jones) work in the mines.
The attraction is achingly mutual. But Solomon, uncomfortable with his cultural identity, tells her his name is Sam Livingstone. He also creates a fictional background for himself and his family.
As fate would have it, their subsequent heated romps in the stable lead to Gaenor being denounced in church by her intended (Steffan Rhodri) for "being with child and for fornicating with a stranger."
She and Solomon ultimately decide to run away together, but they find their plans thwarted by prevailing racial tensions brought to a head by a lengthy mining strike, not to mention respective family members who are less than encouraging of the relationship.
While it's pretty clear they're not headed for a happily ever-after finale, you still hold out hope, mainly because of the palpable chemistry that exists between Roberts and Gruffudd. They generate a convincing spark of sexual electricity that is often missing in conventional screen romances.
They're surrounded by a seasoned cast of character actors who follow the example of Morrison's delicate script by staying respectfully clear of anything resembling caricature.
Factor in Nina Kellgren's textured cinematography and Ilona Sekacz's moody yet subdued score, and you've got a class act of a story that is as universal in theme as it is unique in its selection of time and place.
SOLOMON & GAENOR
Sony Pictures Classics
Director-screenwriter: Paul Morrison
Producer: Sheryl Crown
Executive producers: Andy Porter, David Green
Director of photography: Nina Kellgren
Production designer: Hayden Pearce
Editor: Kant Pan
Costume designer: Maxine Brown
Music: Ilona Sekacz
Color/stereo
Cast:
Solomon: Ioan Gruffudd
Gaenor: Nia Roberts
Rezl: Maureen Lipman
Isaac: David Horovitch
Idris: William Thomas
Crad: Mark Lewis Jones
Running time -- 100 minutes
MPAA rating: R...
But thanks to first-time feature filmmaker Paul Morrison's insightful, carefully nuanced script and tender performances by a well-
chosen cast, this affecting story about the ill-fated romance between a Welsh miner's daughter and an Orthodox Jewish storekeeper's son at the turn of the 20th century has plenty of atmosphere to compensate for any predictability.
An Oscar nominee this year for best foreign language film (courtesy of the subtitled Welsh and Yiddish dialogue mixed in with the English), the Sony Pictures Classics release should attract a solid art house following and establish documentarian and practicing psychotherapist Morrison as a promising new talent.
Ioan Gruffudd is Solomon, the eldest son in a Jewish immigrant family whose parents run a pawnshop with a fabric-peddling business on the side. While on one of his door-to-door excursions in the local Welsh Valley, he meets and immediately becomes smitten with Gaenor (Nia Roberts), whose father (William Thomas) and prone-to-
violence brother Mark Lewis Jones) work in the mines.
The attraction is achingly mutual. But Solomon, uncomfortable with his cultural identity, tells her his name is Sam Livingstone. He also creates a fictional background for himself and his family.
As fate would have it, their subsequent heated romps in the stable lead to Gaenor being denounced in church by her intended (Steffan Rhodri) for "being with child and for fornicating with a stranger."
She and Solomon ultimately decide to run away together, but they find their plans thwarted by prevailing racial tensions brought to a head by a lengthy mining strike, not to mention respective family members who are less than encouraging of the relationship.
While it's pretty clear they're not headed for a happily ever-after finale, you still hold out hope, mainly because of the palpable chemistry that exists between Roberts and Gruffudd. They generate a convincing spark of sexual electricity that is often missing in conventional screen romances.
They're surrounded by a seasoned cast of character actors who follow the example of Morrison's delicate script by staying respectfully clear of anything resembling caricature.
Factor in Nina Kellgren's textured cinematography and Ilona Sekacz's moody yet subdued score, and you've got a class act of a story that is as universal in theme as it is unique in its selection of time and place.
SOLOMON & GAENOR
Sony Pictures Classics
Director-screenwriter: Paul Morrison
Producer: Sheryl Crown
Executive producers: Andy Porter, David Green
Director of photography: Nina Kellgren
Production designer: Hayden Pearce
Editor: Kant Pan
Costume designer: Maxine Brown
Music: Ilona Sekacz
Color/stereo
Cast:
Solomon: Ioan Gruffudd
Gaenor: Nia Roberts
Rezl: Maureen Lipman
Isaac: David Horovitch
Idris: William Thomas
Crad: Mark Lewis Jones
Running time -- 100 minutes
MPAA rating: R...
- 8/25/2000
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
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