In Search of Happiness
Encyclopedia
In Search of Happiness is a 2005 Russian documentary film
that poetically follows the lives of Boris and Masha Rak, Soviet Jews who in 1934 moved to the Jewish Autonomous Oblast
(JAO) created by the order of Joseph Stalin
in Russian Far East
. The film won the Best Documentary award in the Russia
n Film Festival
in 2006.
The Jewish population of the JAO never reached 30% and as of 2003 it was only about 1.2%. The population of the capital, Birobidzan, has dwindled, The city's only Birobidzhan Synagogue
holds services twice a week.
. For Rak, the puddles have become "a memorial to his life's work."
The two also raise animals, which are all given the names of political leaders.
The documentary stresses human vulnerability. Nature has reduced the once prosperous communal farm into a swampy, puddled mush. Physical handicaps and old age cripple the people that the film follows, and it is clear that their expectations of the Jewish Republic have been met by disappointment. Despite being subjected to the negative effects of rain, aging, politics, and other's people's decisions, Rak and Masha continue to persevere.
Other documentaries about Jewish communities outside of Israel:
Documentary film
Documentary films constitute a broad category of nonfictional motion pictures intended to document some aspect of reality, primarily for the purposes of instruction or maintaining a historical record...
that poetically follows the lives of Boris and Masha Rak, Soviet Jews who in 1934 moved to the Jewish Autonomous Oblast
Jewish Autonomous Oblast
The Jewish Autonomous Oblast is a federal subject of Russia situated in the Russian Far East, bordering Khabarovsk Krai and Amur Oblast of Russia and Heilongjiang province of China. Its administrative center is the town of Birobidzhan....
(JAO) created by the order of Joseph Stalin
Joseph Stalin
Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin was the Premier of the Soviet Union from 6 May 1941 to 5 March 1953. He was among the Bolshevik revolutionaries who brought about the October Revolution and had held the position of first General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union's Central Committee...
in Russian Far East
Russian Far East
Russian Far East is a term that refers to the Russian part of the Far East, i.e., extreme east parts of Russia, between Lake Baikal in Eastern Siberia and the Pacific Ocean...
. The film won the Best Documentary award in the Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
n Film Festival
Film festival
A film festival is an organised, extended presentation of films in one or more movie theaters or screening venues, usually in a single locality. More and more often film festivals show part of their films to the public by adding outdoor movie screenings...
in 2006.
The Jewish population of the JAO never reached 30% and as of 2003 it was only about 1.2%. The population of the capital, Birobidzan, has dwindled, The city's only Birobidzhan Synagogue
Birobidzhan Synagogue
The Birobidzhan Synagogue was established in 2004. The synagogue is in the city of Birobidzhan, which is the capital of the Jewish Autonomous Oblast, an autonomous oblast of Russia. It is "the first synagogue in Russia to be built partly with state money," according to the Federation of Jewish...
holds services twice a week.
Summary
The film shows Boris's and Masha's modest life, without modern technology, relying on each other's hard work to survive. Rak is the chairman of Birobidzhan's last collective farm, which excessive rain has reduced to a swamplandSwampland
In physics, the term swampland is used in contrast to the term "landscape," to indicate physical theories or aspects of such theories which could be true if gravity wasn't an issue, but which are not compatible with string theory...
. For Rak, the puddles have become "a memorial to his life's work."
The two also raise animals, which are all given the names of political leaders.
"No one wants to invest any money in this city, because they don't want two homelands,” one of the only practicing Jews in Birobidzhan explains, “Jews in MoscowMoscowMoscow is the capital, the most populous city, and the most populous federal subject of Russia. The city is a major political, economic, cultural, scientific, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the continent...
, Saint PetersburgSaint PetersburgSaint Petersburg is a city and a federal subject of Russia located on the Neva River at the head of the Gulf of Finland on the Baltic Sea...
, KievKievKiev or Kyiv is the capital and the largest city of Ukraine, located in the north central part of the country on the Dnieper River. The population as of the 2001 census was 2,611,300. However, higher numbers have been cited in the press....
all receive money. But the only money we get is to help the Jews who are here to leave.”
The documentary stresses human vulnerability. Nature has reduced the once prosperous communal farm into a swampy, puddled mush. Physical handicaps and old age cripple the people that the film follows, and it is clear that their expectations of the Jewish Republic have been met by disappointment. Despite being subjected to the negative effects of rain, aging, politics, and other's people's decisions, Rak and Masha continue to persevere.
Accolades
- Winner, Best Documentary in the Russian Film FestivalFilm festivalA film festival is an organised, extended presentation of films in one or more movie theaters or screening venues, usually in a single locality. More and more often film festivals show part of their films to the public by adding outdoor movie screenings...
, 2006 - Honorable Mention in the Cinema du Reel Film Festival, 2006
- Official Selection in the LeipzigLeipzigLeipzig Leipzig has always been a trade city, situated during the time of the Holy Roman Empire at the intersection of the Via Regia and Via Imperii, two important trade routes. At one time, Leipzig was one of the major European centres of learning and culture in fields such as music and publishing...
Festival for Documentary Films, 2006 - Official Selection Docpoint Film Festival, 2006
See also
- Jewish StateJewish stateA homeland for the Jewish people was an idea that rose to the fore in the 19th century in the wake of growing anti-Semitism and Jewish assimilation. Jewish emancipation in Europe paved the way for two ideological solutions to the Jewish Question: cultural assimilation, as envisaged by Moses...
- History of the Jews in Serbia
- Secular Jewish cultureSecular Jewish cultureSecular Jewish culture embraces several related phenomena; above all, it is the international culture of secular communities of Jewish people, but it can also include the cultural contributions of individuals who identify as secular Jews...
- List of Czech and Slovak Jews
- Progressive Jewish Thought and the New Anti-SemitismProgressive Jewish Thought and the New Anti-Semitism"Progressive" Jewish Thought and the New Anti-Semitism is a 2006 essay released by the American Jewish Committee, authored by Alvin H. Rosenfeld , with an introduction by the AJC's executive director, David A. Harris...
- History of the Jews in Russia and the Soviet UnionHistory of the Jews in Russia and the Soviet UnionThe vast territories of the Russian Empire at one time hosted the largest populations of Jews in the diaspora. Within these territories the Jewish community flourished and developed many of modern Judaism's most distinctive theological and cultural traditions, while also facing periods of...
- Antisemitism and Joseph Stalin
- Jews and Judaism in the Jewish Autonomous Oblast
Other documentaries about Jewish communities outside of Israel:
- Jews of Iran
- Next Year in ArgentinaNext Year in ArgentinaNext Year in Argentina is a 2005 documentary about diaspora Jews, who have either decided to remain in Argentina or move to Israel...
- The Jewish SteppeThe Jewish SteppeThe Jewish Steppe is a 2001 documentary about a group of Russian Jews who, exhausted by prejudice and fearful of pogroms, left their homeland to farm the untamed Crimean Peninsula...