Left Luggage (film)
Encyclopedia
Left Luggage is a 1998 Dutch
film
directed by Jeroen Krabbé
.
She develops a special bond with the youngest of the boys, four-year old Simcha
, who seems incapable of speaking. She encourages him to speak while walking in the park, and it appears that, after some coaching from Chaya (who needs coaching herself) during the upcoming Passover Seder
, Simcha will be able to chant the section of the Haggadah usually reserved for the youngest speaking participant - the Four Questions.
At first, Simcha's nerves prevent him from chanting, and his brothers begin to chant instead. Simcha finally lifts his voice. The entire family, including Chaya, applauds his efforts, but his judgemental father does not recognize this great step, but instead criticizes the boy for a mistake. Chaya confronts the father, and in the process, discovers his own pain as a Holocaust survivor, and begins to understand her own parents' grief.
The anti-Semitic superintendent of the building is a constant problem for the entire family and now for Chaya. However, as opposed to the observant Jews, she refuses to be a victim and does not put up with his anti-Semitic tricks. She fights him, thus exciting the children's admiration and father's wrath.
Unfortunately, walks with Simcha end in a tragedy: after sneaking to the park, he drowns in the pond, while chasing the ducks he loved so much. Some in the community hold Chaya responsible for his death. However, in a scene where Chaya goes to the family's mourning service, the mother feels compassion for Chaya and realizes that Chaya felt a deep connection with Simcha. As an act of acceptance, his mother rips Chaya's shirt, which is a sign of a mourner (a sibling, parent, child or spouse of the deceased) in Jewish tradition.
The boy's father finally, albeit silently, acknowledges Chaya's connection with Simcha when she observes the graveside service.
Chaya's experience allows her to finally accept her parents' past, and to embrace her own Jewishness.
The film is a commentary not only on external (gentile) anti-Semitism, but also on the lack of connection and self-acceptance of assimilated Jews.
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
film
Film
A film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects...
directed by Jeroen Krabbé
Jeroen Krabbé
Jeroen Aart Krabbé is a Dutch actor and film director who has appeared in many Dutch and international films.-Biography:...
.
Plot
While escaping from Nazis during WWII, a Jewish man buries two suitcases full of things dear to his heart in the ground. The war deprived him of his family, and afterwards he endlessly turns over the soil of Antwerp to find the suitcases, an obsessive compulsion. He keeps checking old maps and keeps digging, trying to find what he lost. His daughter Chaya is a beautiful modern girl looking for a part-time job. She finds a place as a nanny in the strictly observant hassidic family with many children, although her secular manners clearly fly in the face of their beliefs. One of the reasons she is accepted is that mother of the family is absolutely overburdened by the household, so Chaya stays despite the resistance of the father, who is normally an indisputable authority in the family.She develops a special bond with the youngest of the boys, four-year old Simcha
Simcha
Simcha is a Hebrew word with several meanings. Literally, the word "simcha" means gladness, or joy. It comes from the root word "sameyach," which means glad or happy.The concept of simcha is an important one in Jewish philosophy...
, who seems incapable of speaking. She encourages him to speak while walking in the park, and it appears that, after some coaching from Chaya (who needs coaching herself) during the upcoming Passover Seder
Passover Seder
The Passover Seder is a Jewish ritual feast that marks the beginning of the Jewish holiday of Passover. It is conducted on the evenings of the 14th day of Nisan in the Hebrew calendar, and on the 15th by traditionally observant Jews living outside Israel. This corresponds to late March or April in...
, Simcha will be able to chant the section of the Haggadah usually reserved for the youngest speaking participant - the Four Questions.
At first, Simcha's nerves prevent him from chanting, and his brothers begin to chant instead. Simcha finally lifts his voice. The entire family, including Chaya, applauds his efforts, but his judgemental father does not recognize this great step, but instead criticizes the boy for a mistake. Chaya confronts the father, and in the process, discovers his own pain as a Holocaust survivor, and begins to understand her own parents' grief.
The anti-Semitic superintendent of the building is a constant problem for the entire family and now for Chaya. However, as opposed to the observant Jews, she refuses to be a victim and does not put up with his anti-Semitic tricks. She fights him, thus exciting the children's admiration and father's wrath.
Unfortunately, walks with Simcha end in a tragedy: after sneaking to the park, he drowns in the pond, while chasing the ducks he loved so much. Some in the community hold Chaya responsible for his death. However, in a scene where Chaya goes to the family's mourning service, the mother feels compassion for Chaya and realizes that Chaya felt a deep connection with Simcha. As an act of acceptance, his mother rips Chaya's shirt, which is a sign of a mourner (a sibling, parent, child or spouse of the deceased) in Jewish tradition.
The boy's father finally, albeit silently, acknowledges Chaya's connection with Simcha when she observes the graveside service.
Chaya's experience allows her to finally accept her parents' past, and to embrace her own Jewishness.
The film is a commentary not only on external (gentile) anti-Semitism, but also on the lack of connection and self-acceptance of assimilated Jews.
Cast
- Laura FraserLaura FraserLaura Fraser is a Scottish actress.-Early life:Fraser is the daughter of Rose, a college lecturer and nurse, and Alister Fraser, a scriptwriter who also worked in business. She attended Hillhead High School and is a former member of the Scottish Youth Theatre...
- Chaya Silberschmidt - Adam Monty - Simcha Kalman
- Isabella RosselliniIsabella RosselliniIsabella Fiorella Elettra Giovanna Rossellini is an Italian actress, filmmaker, author, philanthropist, and model. Rossellini is noted for her 14-year tenure as a Lancôme model, and for her roles in films such as Blue Velvet and Death Becomes Her.-Background and early life:Rossellini is a...
- Mrs. Kalman - Jeroen KrabbéJeroen KrabbéJeroen Aart Krabbé is a Dutch actor and film director who has appeared in many Dutch and international films.-Biography:...
- Mr. Kalman - Chaim TopolChaim TopolChaim Topol , often billed simply as Topol, is an Israeli theatrical and film performer, actor, writer and producer. He has been nominated for an Oscar and Tony Award, and has won two Golden Globes.-Early life:...
- Yacov Apfelschnitt - Marianne SägebrechtMarianne SägebrechtMarianne Sägebrecht is a German film actress.Her background included stints as a medical lab assistant and magazine assistant editor before she found her calling in show business...
- Mrs. Silberschmidt - Maximilian SchellMaximilian SchellMaximilian Schell is an Austrian-born Swiss actor who won the Academy Award for Best Actor for his role in Judgment at Nuremberg in 1961...
- Mr. Silberschmidt - David BradleyDavid Bradley (actor)David Bradley is an English character actor. He has recently become known for playing the caretaker of Hogwarts, Argus Filch, in the Harry Potter film franchise.-Life and career :...
- Concierge - Heather Weeks - Sofie
- Miriam MargolyesMiriam MargolyesMiriam Margolyes, OBE is an English actress and voice artist. Her earliest roles were in theatre and after several supporting roles in film and television she won a BAFTA Award for her role in The Age of Innocence .-Early life:...
- Mrs. Goldman - Lex GoudsmitLex GoudsmitLex Goudsmit was a Dutch actor.Goudsmit's father, a diamond worker, was Jewish and his mother Roman Catholic. He became famous in 1966 for playing Tevye in Fiddler on the Roof, which role he performed some 1100 times in the Netherlands and in London...
- Mr. Goldman