19 opiniones
- Helmholz
- 2 ene 2006
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I once read about how Paul Mazursky's career as a director has gravitated between very well done ("Bob and Carol and Ted and Alice", "Moscow on the Hudson") and what-was-he-thinking?! ("Scenes from a Mall", "The Flying Pickle"). Well, I can say with certainty that "Enemies: A Love Story" is one of his good ones. Portraying Holocaust survivor Herman Broder (Ron Silver) living in New York in 1949 and suddenly surrounded by three women (his current wife, another married woman, and his first wife whom he believed to be dead), the movie presents an eye-opening situation. It's like a slice-of-life story taken one step further. As the three women, Margaret Sophie Stein, Lena Olin, and Anjelica Huston do a very good job. Definitely worth seeing.
- lee_eisenberg
- 3 mar 2006
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It's one of those stories that may be better in print or would have more impact on the stage, however this works suprisingly well on film. The superb acting allows it to be both effective as a drama and comedy.For those familiar with NYC in the late 40's, the setting is most believable.It's far from boring, but one must adapt to the slow pace of the movie, which in fact, proves to be an asset.All 'n all; well done. 7/10
- pbalos
- 27 ago 2000
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Very little in the previous career of director Paul Mazursky gave any hint of the depth and complexity of this comedy drama, adapted from an Isaac Bashevis Singer story about the misadventures of a Jewish refugee (Ron Silver) in New York City shortly after World War Two. Silver has a few problems most men wouldn't mind sharing, including a wife who is more a devoted servant and a mistress as passionate as she is temperamental, but the cozy arrangement is complicated by the unexpected return of his first wife, long thought dead, to act as a ghostly conscience and councilor for her bewildered husband. The film is so well made, with such attention to period flavor and detail, that it seems mean to point out its few nagging shortcomings: the haphazard structure, with too many sudden, incompatible changes in mood, and the equally inconsistent characters (it's never made clear, for example, why all three women are so devoted to this particular nobody). Too bad some of the effort that went into the production didn't first go into the script, but it's still an unusually rich experience, with an added dimension of depth from the specters of the Holocaust still haunting each character.
- mjneu59
- 14 nov 2010
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a hellish tale about a modern jobe from Bashevis Zinger's Novel. Herman Broder(Ron Silver), a holocaust surviver, lives in the 1940's New York with the polish peasant that hid hom during the war, has an affair with Mash (Lena Olin) , a half crazed camps survivor and has to deal with his first wife, supposedly dead, Tamara (Anjeliqua Huston). All of this is brought in a suffocated, sarcastic, sweaty manner, that you feel his suffering. An excellent performance by all of the above in a movie in a very impressive film
- tao-3
- 1 ene 1999
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This story is quite a complicated one for just one man who is passively following his path along the way with 3 different woman. But I don't see it just as a comedy because of something from the past which is haunting him and might explain his attitude. Actors are all playing a very good part of this movie.
- philjeudy
- 25 jun 2020
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There is a lot of really good stuff here. The acting, direction, and photography are first-rate. There were issues with the sound on my DVD, so I had to turn on the subtitles. But that is almost certainly not the fault of the original film. Ron Silver has never been a favorite of mine, but he turns in some of his very best work in this film. All three of the women were very good, but Anjelica Huston sort of steals the show. It's not clear to me why these women all seem to love Silver's character, as he is neither attractive, nor rich, nor even very agreeable in manner. But overall, it's a decent flick.
- smatysia
- 10 dic 2019
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When comedian Alan King passed away last year, I thought of his sweet performance in this should-be classic. One would not expect comedy to come from a story about Holocaust survivors, but this film takes the quirks of human behavior in the wake of tragedy and puts them on display, warts and all. I haven't read Nobel Prize winner Isaac Bashevis Singer's novel, but I can't imagine him not being pleased with Paul Mazursky's winning adaptation. Poor Ron Silver though, he finally gets a lead role, and almost every scene of his is stolen by one of his three outstanding female co-stars.
Lena Olin has the showiest part as a fiery concentration camp survivor. Full of passion, bitterness, and paranoia all at the same time, she puts sex back into an era normally depicted as colorless and empty. I don't want to say too much about Anjelica Huston's role for fear of spoiling the intrigue each revelation about her character brings. She pulls off several humorous moments as well. But the real revelation is Margaret Sophie Stein. As Silver's wife whom he married out of gratitude, she is not as naive as she seems, and her performance anchors the film.
This movie snuck in under the wire at the tail end of the 'eighties, and seemed to have gotten lost in the shuffle of high caliber end-of-the-year movies all seeking Oscar consideration. Some feel that its Best Picture nomination was stolen by Dead Poets Society. I am one of those people. But keep in mind that this was the year that Do the Right Thing was ignored in favor of more sentimental fare like Field of Dreams. Olin and Huston were nominated for their roles, but they lost to Brenda Fricker's tour de force performance as Christy Brown's mother in My Left Foot.
It bothers me that this film doesn't have more votes. Rent it, people!!! (Or better yet, buy a copy. When you see it, you'll want to.) You'll love the characters, and it's a great film to watch after you've seen something like Life is Beautiful. It is an unusual tale, but one I am glad someone thought to tell.
Lena Olin has the showiest part as a fiery concentration camp survivor. Full of passion, bitterness, and paranoia all at the same time, she puts sex back into an era normally depicted as colorless and empty. I don't want to say too much about Anjelica Huston's role for fear of spoiling the intrigue each revelation about her character brings. She pulls off several humorous moments as well. But the real revelation is Margaret Sophie Stein. As Silver's wife whom he married out of gratitude, she is not as naive as she seems, and her performance anchors the film.
This movie snuck in under the wire at the tail end of the 'eighties, and seemed to have gotten lost in the shuffle of high caliber end-of-the-year movies all seeking Oscar consideration. Some feel that its Best Picture nomination was stolen by Dead Poets Society. I am one of those people. But keep in mind that this was the year that Do the Right Thing was ignored in favor of more sentimental fare like Field of Dreams. Olin and Huston were nominated for their roles, but they lost to Brenda Fricker's tour de force performance as Christy Brown's mother in My Left Foot.
It bothers me that this film doesn't have more votes. Rent it, people!!! (Or better yet, buy a copy. When you see it, you'll want to.) You'll love the characters, and it's a great film to watch after you've seen something like Life is Beautiful. It is an unusual tale, but one I am glad someone thought to tell.
- xavrush89
- 17 feb 2005
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Singer is a downer (except for the cinematically changed ending of Yentl), and this extremely well-performed and well-directed sado-masochistic tale is no exception. This film truly makes you feel its characters' abundant and excruciating pains. The Holocaust was Hell, and this film convinces me that the only thing worse than getting killed in a concentration camp, is surviving one.
- aromatic
- 7 may 2001
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After reading the novel this film was based on, I thought: "No way! There is absolutely no way they can portray these raw emotions on film!" But that's exactly what the amazing actors do! The three women are as different as they could be, but each character is spot-on. Between these 3 women (Lena Olin, Anjelica Houston and Margaret Sophie Stein) is Ron Silver, whose character's emotions are clearly displayed on his face - I don't know if he is the anchor in the movie, because at times he is overshadowed by his female co-stars, but he makes me sympathize with him.
The "old" feel of the movie is great, and I do believe that it's a realistic image of New York in the late '40s.
It might be a bit depressing, but it should be seen if not only for the acting - trust me, it's fantastic!
The "old" feel of the movie is great, and I do believe that it's a realistic image of New York in the late '40s.
It might be a bit depressing, but it should be seen if not only for the acting - trust me, it's fantastic!
- lennie_mo_
- 27 nov 2006
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Filmmaker Paul Mazursky obviously lavished a lot of love on "Enemies: A Love Story", but the material's thin design shows through, that and a curiously limited budget which gives the nostalgic trimmings a misplaced, artificial appearance. Pretentious drama adapted from Isaac Bashevis Singer's novel takes place in New York 1949, with Holocaust survivor Ron Silver involved with three different women: his second wife, his mistress, and his first wife long thought deceased. Solid acting by Silver and Lena Olin, superb work by Anjelica Huston nearly keeps this stilted formula afloat, but the period flavor was too elaborate a feat for low-budget Mazursky to capture, and the finale is sadly ineffective. ** from ****
- moonspinner55
- 28 mar 2008
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- TedMichaelMor
- 3 sep 2010
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- pinarbedirli
- 2 dic 2007
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Paul Mazursky's best film but then he was working with great material, in this case Issac Bashevis Singer's novel about a Holocaust survivor who, having moved to America after the war, finds himself with three living wives; he's a bigamist more by design than choice, believing his first wife died in the concentration camps, he remarried in America, (now wife number three is a whole different story).
This is a great tragi-comedy; the situation is farcial and sometimes very funny but the horror of the Holocaust permeates every frame and Mazursky treats the material with the respect it is due. This is a movie that comes close to perfection from the superb period design down to the faultless performances of the entire cast.
Ron Silver is superb as Herman, a man confident enough to try to balance three relationships at once, convincing himself he loves all the women in his life, Angleica Huston, the wife who returns from the dead, Margaret Sophie Stein as the simple servant girl he marries after the war and Lena Olin as the clinging beauty who emotionally blackmails him into marriage. Herman is a liar and a cheat and a shyster but Silver makes him hugely sympathetic, an amoral man who, nevertheless, wants to do right by everyone but who is constantly doomed to failure. This is a great movie that deserves to be better known.
This is a great tragi-comedy; the situation is farcial and sometimes very funny but the horror of the Holocaust permeates every frame and Mazursky treats the material with the respect it is due. This is a movie that comes close to perfection from the superb period design down to the faultless performances of the entire cast.
Ron Silver is superb as Herman, a man confident enough to try to balance three relationships at once, convincing himself he loves all the women in his life, Angleica Huston, the wife who returns from the dead, Margaret Sophie Stein as the simple servant girl he marries after the war and Lena Olin as the clinging beauty who emotionally blackmails him into marriage. Herman is a liar and a cheat and a shyster but Silver makes him hugely sympathetic, an amoral man who, nevertheless, wants to do right by everyone but who is constantly doomed to failure. This is a great movie that deserves to be better known.
- MOscarbradley
- 22 sep 2021
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One reviewer complained about struggling to hear the dialogue. This is due to a huge mistake made when the film was improperly mastered for DVD; some DVD players, especially if they are trying to create phantom surround tracks with a 2-channel stereo-only system, will play this superb film incorrectly. If you can, experiment with the sound settings on your A/V amplifier, and you will likely find something that works correctly. Perhaps someday someone will properly remaster this film for Blu-Ray. It's entirely possible the 5.1 version streaming on iTunes will play correctly - I haven't checked.
A reviewer from Turkey complained about everyone talking in Italian accents. This is absolutely not true, and, in fact, Margaret Sophie Stein, who plays Herman's Polish wife Yadwiga, is a native of Poland who had to work very hard to speak English for the film. As the sound supervisor on this film I know for a fact that the accents are very authentic.
A reviewer from Turkey complained about everyone talking in Italian accents. This is absolutely not true, and, in fact, Margaret Sophie Stein, who plays Herman's Polish wife Yadwiga, is a native of Poland who had to work very hard to speak English for the film. As the sound supervisor on this film I know for a fact that the accents are very authentic.
- davew-14
- 24 ago 2016
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A man (Ron SILVER) barely survived the Shoah, but lost his wife and children. In 1949, he lives in Coney Island with his Polish lifesaver (Malgorzata ZAJACZKOWSKA), but has a mistress (Lena OLIN) whom he loves passionately. Then the wife (Anjelica HUSTON), who was believed to be dead, shows up again, and suddenly our hero has three women on his hands...
This extraordinary film was created based on a novel by Nobel Prize winner Isaac Beshevis SINGER, who wrote his works in Yiddish. Absolutely sexy, uproariously funny, but also deeply sad! It's about how you can continue to live as a survivor after the Shoah. In a world that seems so untouched by the horrors of the National Socialists. What could seem like a lively sex comedy turns out to be an existentialist drama about the strength and inability to continue living after the unfathomable.
There were ACADEMY AWARD nominations for Anjelica HUSTON and Lena OLIN in 1990. A cinematic gem that should definitely be rediscovered!
This extraordinary film was created based on a novel by Nobel Prize winner Isaac Beshevis SINGER, who wrote his works in Yiddish. Absolutely sexy, uproariously funny, but also deeply sad! It's about how you can continue to live as a survivor after the Shoah. In a world that seems so untouched by the horrors of the National Socialists. What could seem like a lively sex comedy turns out to be an existentialist drama about the strength and inability to continue living after the unfathomable.
There were ACADEMY AWARD nominations for Anjelica HUSTON and Lena OLIN in 1990. A cinematic gem that should definitely be rediscovered!
- ZeddaZogenau
- 3 nov 2023
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First of all, let me say that the production design of this film is amazing. Without CGI they recreated mid 20th century nyc with verisimilitude if not absolute fidelity. The photography is mesmerizing and I'm so grateful to have come across this Mazursky gem while scrolling through my cable movie channels. I haven't read the Singer novel, so I can't make comparisons, but I'm imagining that Enemies, a Love Story would stand alone as a true work of art. The complex emotions and motivations that drive the stories of theses wonderfully written and acted characters in the aftermath of the Holocaust are effectively portrayed. I laughed, I cried, I was moved. If you can find it, watch it!
- didldoc
- 12 feb 2021
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It's move over darling, with some extra twists. It's the ol "dead wife returns" story. A period piece, taking place in 1949. Ron silver is herman, the jewish writer, who has a very complicated life. A new wife, and a mistress too! It's a little bit brighton beach memoirs, or maybe radio days, with a side of tune in tomorrow. We can see how its all going to blow up in herman's face, at some point. Who has the emotional energy for all this?.. much less the financial means?? The women are all big emotional messes, so it's sometimes hard to watch... who would put up with all that?? But it's just the right amount tongue in cheek, so it all works! Lots of jewish culture thrown in. I do recommend this one. Even though herman is cheating with everyone all around, we're still rooting for the underdog. Very well done! The book must have been really well written. Novel by isaac singer. Directed by paul mazursky... was nominated for five oscars! One was for enemies.
- ksf-2
- 26 ago 2022
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- philosopherjack
- 18 sep 2024
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