Many a commentator has called this film the quintessential Jewish film, while others have called it the opposite. The broad story of a father sweating over the marriages of his daughters is common to any religion or culture, but the details of this film are seeped in Jewish tradition. There is a simple philosophy about how one should live ones life that anyone can find poignant. And it's filled with great songs.
Tevye (Topol, FLASH GORDON) is the milkman in the village of Anatevka, Russia in 1905. He embraces tradition and finds comfort in it. But his oldest daughters Tzeitel (Rosalind Harris, THE COTTON CLUB), Hodel (Michele Marsh) and Chava (Neva Small) have different ideas about following traditions regarding the use of a matchmaker to find husbands. Tzeitel is set up with the old rich butcher Lazar Wolf (Paul Mann, AMERICA, AMERICA), but she's in love with her childhood sweetheart, the poor tailor Motel (Leonard Frey, FINNEGAN'S WAKE). Tevye is uneasy about the political unrest brewing, so when Hodel falls for the Marxist Perchik (Paul Michael Glaser, TV's STARSKY AND HUTCH), Tevye really has to consult God for advice. But just wait until he finds out who Chava wants to marry.
Director Norman Jewison (who told the studio he wasn't Jewish on the first day of pre-production) handles the tonal shifts of the story very well. The songs are joyous celebrations of the good things in life. He films them with an organic feel where dance sequences don't feel over choreographed even though they are intricately choreographed. The tonal shifts are important because they represent the metaphor of the fiddler on a roof, trying to play a beautiful tune without falling off and breaking his neck. There is a pragmatism to the entire story. Life is precarious. All good times come to an end, so one must find joy in the simple things in life like family and traditions.
Topol received a well deserved Oscar nomination for his boisterous performance. He captures a personal relationship with God in soliloquies where he feels comfortable to argue and debate. Norma Crane (THEY CALL ME MISTER TIBBS!) plays his wife Golde, who is a practical woman in all aspects of her life and keeps a watchful eye on her sometimes flamboyant husband. Frey also received an Oscar nod for his portrayal of the sheepish Motel. His long struggle to get his first sewing machine is a perfect metaphor for how long goals seem to take to achieve, but in the end, the struggle is worth it.
Roger Ebert has said that no good film is too long and no bad film is short enough. I'd have to disagree. I'd say that no great film is too long. Some good films have problems and at 181 minutes that's a problem here. Because the plotting is so well warn the film wanes its appeal toward the end.
However, the conclusion is unlike any other musical. That's what makes it profound and memorable. It's bittersweet and nicely sums up Jewish history and philosophy and tradition.
Buy "Fiddler on the Roof" on DVD Here!
Rick DeMott
Animation World Network
Creator of Rick's Flicks Picks
