Dear Mr. Waldman
It happened in the spring of 1962 in the south of Tel-Aviv.
I was 10 years old.
My life was simple: In the mornings, prayers at the orthodox school
and in the evenings, movies at the local cinema,
which I devoured as I imagined myself fighting for justice
alongside Kirk Douglas and Gary Cooper.
My parents had survived the Holocaust but I never knew what happened there.
In those days, my heroes were Tarzan from the comic books,
Spartacus from the movies,
Paul Temple from the radio and Babaleh Beye from Dad's stories
For as long as I can remember, my brother and I have always wondered
how not to hurt our parents, how to make them happy
to make up for all the suffering they went through in the Holocaust.
No one ever told us it was our duty. We just knew.
There’s the car, Paul. They saw us!
Bend over, Steve!
Honey, are you OK? - Yes, Steve.
Now it's my turn.
You hit the tire!
But... But it's Sheila Bexter.
Yes. Sheila Bexter, also known as Valentine!
"Are you afraid to die, Spartacus? - No, Antonius.
"No more than I was afraid to be born."
Go back to work.
There's nothing to read.
Back to work.
Hilik, bring the carp fish to the kitchen, now!
Right, settle down.
Well, my little geniuses, anyone?
Can't have them saying there are no geniuses at this school.
A spaceship pilot is called an "Astronovat."
Now,
this astronovat, in his spaceship, what happens to him?
Yes, rusty Judah? - He gets seasick.
How could he get seasick up is space, Huh?!
He floats inside his spaceship like a balloon.
He just floats and floats and floats. And why is that?
Yes, Yoram? - Gravitation?
That's true, gravitation is a part of it.
But, mostly it's because in space there is no oxygen...
Who yelled? I want to know who yelled just now.
Hilik, was that you?
Hilik, on your feet. Go stand in the corner. - But, sir...
No "buts". I know it was you. Go stand in the corner!
On with it. You're disrupting class.
Why are you ogling me like a starving camel, huh?
Do you want to chew me up? Is that it? Go stand in the corner.
I am Spartacus!
Then I am Antiochus! Get out of here, you brat!
Go to the principal and tell him I sent you to his office.
Little brat...
Rivkaleh!
Hey, sweetie.
So, how about that new car of mine?
Chevy '48.
They made my car the same day Ben Gurion made this country.
But, then, just look at Israel, and look at my car...
America! - It really is America.
Look at that engine. Check it out, Moyshe. Dandy as a candy.
It really is pretty.
Moyshe, I got this Studebaker, Lark model. Mint condition,
new tires. If you're interested... - I don't even have a license.
Gears and a steering wheel... I'll teach you. Right, Rivka?
We'd better save the money for a new apartment.
Is it very far? - Very far?! It's Holon.
It's right across the corner.
Just wait till you see the lot.
I'm telling you, Holon will be the next big thing.
Folks are gonna flock over there and leave Tel Aviv empty.
Hilik!
Well?
Well what. There's plenty of nothing here.
A little foresight! In a few years it’ll be packed with projects
and duplexes, supermarkets, retail shops, kids, cars, the lot!
How long till we can move in? - Oh, a year or two.
We'll pop in at the lawyer's tomorrow to pay the down payment.
It's a long commute from here to work.
And now it's OK? You walk one hour to work every day.
We don't even have a bus stop near our place. - We will.
Oh, yeah? - Absolutely. Right next to our home.
I'm not moving to Holon, he's a liar.
So now Freukeh a liar?
You told me that only because of him you came out of camp alive.
This isn't a camp, this is Israel, and our street is the best.
Right. You want the kids to share a bed till they go to the army?
Want them to become criminals, like all the people here?
There's no bus stop around here, either.
So that's your problem? I'll fix it with one letter.
Another letter? You should publish a correspondence novel.
Yonatan, fetch me a pencil and a sheet of paper!
"For the Minister of Transportation.
"Regarding a bus stop on Benbenishti street.
"We don't have a bus stop near my house, and this is unacceptable.
"I have to walk for one hour every day to work.
"Not to mention this neighborhood doesn't have a public..."
Library? - "Toilet in it.
"This can burst a man's bladder!
"I request that you see to the issue. Respectfully,
"Moshe Waldman."
Well?
I put down "restroom" instead of toilet. It's nicer.
You poop in a restroom just the same. Whatever.
There you go. - There I go what?
I got you a bus stop and a special delivery restroom.
I don't want your bus stops. I want to move.
My heart's going to pop out of my chest.
You keep up with your acts, a lot of good it'll do you.
Dad! - Oh, my heart!
No, dad, no!
Oh, my heart! Oye!
I was ten years old when my late brother, Yankel Waldman,
rose from the dead and changed my life.
What's so interesting in the paper? That thing's glued to your hand.
My son was appointed advisor to President Kennedy.
Wanna see?
"Jack Waldman Appointed as Kennedy's Advisor."
I don't get the joke.
It's an old bookbinder's joke. What can you do?
Not for educated folks like your family.
Don't joke about the dead.
Maybe he is not dead?
What's wrong? Another bad dream?
Kiss the Mezuzah tomorrow and pray to the Guardian Angel.
OK? Sit down.
What's wrong? It was only a dream. It's gone now.
Do you think we look alike? - That's the President of America.
I don't mean Kennedy. The one sitting beside him.
Jack Waldman, his advisor.
Do we look alike?
Maybe he's even related to us.
That's Yankaleh.
And that's his mother. Rakhcha.
How about that? Does he look like Jack?
Could it be him?
See ya.
Are you ready?
This court sentences Adolf Eichmann to death
for crimes committed against the Jewish people.
Need a microscope? - He has the "illness". Look.
On his neck, see?
Just like me. At the very same spot.
It's dirt, Moyshe. - It's the illness!
Yankel had it, too.
Just like me.
Same as Yankel. - That must be Freukeh.
Moyshe, come on now.
Rivkaleh, Moishe, Holon is waiting for you.
We'll be right down.
My heart!
My heart.
Dad.
Why are you playing F, when I asked for B flat?!
Hilik?
Wakey wakey, Spartacus.
Shall I get you your blankie?
Silence! Nobody laugh!
On with it: Re, re, do, re...
Further out.
Right. Now let's check your breathing.
I'll just warm up the stethoscope a little bit,
so you don't get the shivers.
Breathe now.
Breathe in.
Hold it in...
How's your sleep?
Do you get bad dreams?
What's troubling you?
Something at home? Friends at school?
I don't know what's wrong with him, Dr. Hendler.
He won't eat and he doesn't want to go to school.
What is it, Doctor? Maybe the mumps?
Not the mumps and not the rumps. That's one healthy boy.
He's a little gloomy, but in good health. - Gloomy?
Maybe we should take a urine sample?
You and your crazy ideas.
Why would Henya give him the evil eye? - Why, you ask.
Because she's as barren as the Negev desert, that's why.
Didn't you see how she looked at the boy?
No carrots.
Hilik, with carrots? - Carrots, but no parsley.
Give me your other hand.
There, I can feel it coming out.
Daddy took away all the evil eye for himself. Feeling better,
Eat up.
Moyshe, you getting up?
Aren't you getting up?
Hilik, get up. You're going to be late for school.
I'm not feeling well.
I'm taking care of two kids now.
Hilik, how are you feeling? - No too good. You?
Better now. - Me too.
What are you doing there? - Looking at films.
What's on them? - Spartacus is fighting.
Oh, we got a new book at the binding shop.
"Danny Deen: Seeing and Unseen"
I love him. Who's the villain? - Who knows? The Arabs, I guess.
Dad? - Yeah?
How can you tell that Jack Waldman is your son?
I can't.
Is the scar from the illness?
Do you know the name of Joshua’s father?
Do you understand the question? - Of course he does.
Do you know the name of the son of Spartacus?
Who? - Spartacus' son. The one who fought the Romans.
He had a concubine, Varinia, They had a son. Know his name?
What is this? Are you testing me?
What is this? Are you testing me? Go on, answer the question.
Behave, Hilik. He's not well lately. He's a good boy.
Tell the principal the name of Joshua’s father.
Not before he tells me the name of Spartacus' son.
But he's a good boy. Gifted.
A specialist piano teacher said he had an absolute pitch.
He draws, too. The boy copied a Picasso. Looks identical.
I'm sorry, Mrs. Waldman, but I don't think the boy's suitable
for attendance in this school.
Just because of Joshua’s father?
You see, I have to perform some sort of selection.
Maybe Mister principal could arrange another test? - No.
It's a matter of perception. You either have it, or not.
And your son may have good perception in other fields.
He might be good with his hands.
I'm told welders and machinists are in great demand these days.
Unfortunately, he will no longer be able to attend this school.
I'm sorry.
Tell Yonatan to write him in English. Find out the truth.
We're all sick of this affair.
Fine, fine. No need to shout!
"Dear Mr. Jack Waldman,
"How are you feeling?" - Huh? Is he a buddy of yours?
That's no way to address the advisor to the President.
Mr. Know-it-all...
Write. "My family comes from Radom..."
"My father, Meir, was a blacksmith..."
What's the difference?
How else would he know if we're family?
So what's "blacksmith" in English? - Blekher. - That's Yiddish!
Blekher, I tell you. - "Blacksmith..."
"Blacksmith."
A black Smith. - Not Smith. Meir, I tell you.
"Blacksmith" is "a black Smith" in English.
Eine Schwarze Smith? Whatever.
Some language they got.
Make it Smith or Queen Sheba for all I care.
What could he remember? He must have been just a child.
Ask if this song rings any bells for him...
Never mind. Ask him if he has the illness.
Soon it'll be a gefilte-fish.
It keeps swimming in circles. Do fishes sleep?
I don't know. I was never a carp.
You're about to wear some carrots on your head.
Maybe we should put some carrots on your head, huh?
Mom said you weren't feeling well because of me.
Because of Yankel's picture in the paper.
See, I have to write him.
To know for sure.
If Babaleh Beye were here in the bathtub, what would he do?
What would Babaleh Beye do?
Tell you what he'd do. He wouldn't stay in the tub, that's for sure.
They threw Babaleh in prison once, with high walls around it.
If you touched the electric wall, you'd get fried in a jiff.
So Babaleh waited till nightfall and got up in the dead of night
said "Hak-Nisht-ln-Cheinik!" Three times,
and he suddenly sprouted wings. One here and the other one there.
Big ones. And he went like this with his wings.
Faster and faster,
and then he started to float up,
and faster, and faster, and he went all the way up.
He flew out the window, like that. The prison guard went out,
saw him and said: "Halt, Babaleh Schwein! Halt!"
And he had a submachine gun, he took it in his hands and fire...
But Babaleh Beye, he just flew higher,
over the wall and over the chimney
right into the pitch black cloud and to the blue sky above it.
All the way to...
America!
You really have nothing better to do, do you?
How can I wash myself with that animal in the tub?
Don't play with the fish. It's food.
Not for Sabbath, but I probably found a buyer for the Studebaker.
When? - Right now. Menashe, the Synagogue Manager.
What about the apartment? Make up your mind yet? - No rush.
What are you waiting for, Messiah?
He sent a telegram saying he wasn't coming.
You'll end up whining about missing out on Holon.
So what about Jack Waldman? Did you write him?
I did. Doesn't mean he'll answer. - Why wouldn't he?
You know who I'd like to meet?
Kennedy's chick. Jacqueline. She's something else.
Why can't we look at the Blessing of the Cohens?
If you look once, you turn blind. - And if you look again? - Deaf.
How can a blind man look at anything again?
"May god bless you, Hilik."
"May your Dad not go to America to look for Yankel." -Amen.
"May your father be happy." - Amen.
"May his heart never pop out..." - Amen.
"And may he tell you many stories of Babaleh Beye." -Amen.
Write me back, Yankel. Write me back.
Are you our new pupil? What's your name?
I do not ask you for your name. Do not ask me for mine.
Hilik! - Why not?
Gladiators do not fraternize.
I might have to kill you if we were ever to meet in the ring.
I do hope it'll never come to that.
I don't know what's with him. Lately he's been...
It's alright. It's from Spartacus, right?
Lovely film. Come on, Hilik, let's go to class.
Nirit, meet Hilik, our new pupil.
"After the death of Moses the servant of the Lord,
"the Lord said to Joshua son of Nun, Moses' aide:
"Moses my servant is dead. Now then, you and all these people
"you will cross the Jordan River into the land I will give to them,
the Israelites. I will give you every place where you set foot,
as I promised Moses."
Well done, Yehiel. Well read.
Nirit, continue at verse 13.
"Remember the command that Moses the servant of the Lord gave you:
"'The Lord your God is giving you rest and has granted you..."
You following me?
Wanna come see something interesting?
Hang on...
There, she's coming. Her name's Yaffa (pretty).
Kind of ugly, for a Yaffa. - She's my friend.
Sometimes she gives me money for a movie.
She's a whore.
Maybe I'll be a whore too one day.
Not professionally. Just as a hobby.
May He bless you and keep you out of harm...
protect you from your enemies and guide you
and may he make peace for you...
Dad won't go to America. Daddy loves you, Hilik.
Rakhcheh!
I'm sorry I got here so late.
I came in tonight.
I was sure you were dead.
How?
I nearly was. I was in the pit
and I played dead. Then I ran.
It's Rakhcheh. We thought she was dead.
Unbelievable.
People rise up from the dead suddenly.
Just like Yankel, the little darling.
Load the dirty clothes in and they come out clean an hour later.
No need to get your hands dirty. It's all automatic. Look.
Wrong button.
There.
How do you switch on this piece of junk?
Dad, it's moving! - It's moving...
Oh, dear...
Dad, it's going to run us over!
Moyshe, make it stop.
How do you stop this thing?! Hilik, what did you just do?
Nice. Mazal tov...
If you think I'll give up the apartment in Holon
because of a washing machine, you're kidding yourself.
I get you a washing machine and what do you do?
Gripe and moan.
What's this? What do you need a passport for?
What's the big deal? I had one made. You never know.
What are you going through my pockets for?
Rivka...
Rivkaleh...
Rivchuk, I'm not going anywhere. What's the matter with you?
Fine, we'll buy the flat in Holon, OK?
Come on...
We'll buy the flat.
Where's your "on" switch? How do I get you started?
Quiet. The kids will hear us.
Anyone there?
Well? Let's go sit somewhere and strike the deal.
It's hot here. - Got the contract? - In three copies.
Moyshe?
No!
Moyshe... - Moyshe? Moyshe!
Let go of me! Dad!
Don't worry, he just has to take it in. Give him some time.
Hello. Dad sent me to buy him a cigarette. - Which one?
Which brand, dad?
Ascot. - Ascot.
Good cigarette. Wanna try? - No.
You know, you look a lot like Varinia. - Who's she?
Spartacus' lover. You never saw the movie? I've seen it 7 times.
They crucified him in the end, like they did Jesus,
and his lover and baby came to say goodbye to him.
Got brothers? - One. Do you?
I had one.
But he was killed in the war.
In the Sinai Campaign. - I also have a brother who died.
In what war? - In the Holocaust war. Want to see?
That's Rakhcheh, his mother.
Dad said she had the prettiest legs in town.
He looks a lot like you. - He could still be alive. - Where?
He could be in America. Have you heard of Jack Waldman?
An actor? - The advisor to their president.
Could be him. Dad says he has the illness.
Which one? - Like my dad has, little red spots here.
What's it called, though? - I don't know. "The illness".
Can you die of it? - Don't think so. But Yankel had it, too.
And my dad, he wrote a letter. And he might be going away.
And I don't know if he'll ever come back. - Of course he will.
It's a secret. You can't tell. - Fine. - Swear on it.
I swear on God and on the Bible.
You sure you don't want a puff? Good tobacco. - No.
Want to hear a secret about my dad?
Is he dead?
He's in the kibbutz. My mom used to be a kindergarten teacher
and she had an assistant. Aliza was her name.
My dad fell in love with her, so my parents got divorced.
And my mom and I left the kibbutz and came to live here.
And your dad?
He married Aliza, and they have a baby now.
What's that?
A condom. - Oh. What's a condom?
Don't you know how babies are born? - Sure.
My dad made in his bindery a book called: "A baby is born."
And what did it say?
That mom and dad sleep real close to each other... - And?
And then dad's sperm finds its way to mom's egg. - And that's it?
Didn't it say that the father sticks it in her weewee? - Dunno.
Sure he does, but not before putting the condom on his peepee.
What for? - That's how they know it's over.
The condom swells up until it bursts.
Then, it's over. Get it?
Hello. - Hello.
I wanted to inquire about Jack Waldman,
I wrote him a letter but I got no answer.
Can you understand me?
Jack Waldman.
I'm Moyshe Waldman. Jack Waldman. John Kennedy. No?
Where's the consul? I want to speak with the consul.
Tell him Jack's father is here, Jack Waldman's father.
Understand?
"Der Commandant, bitte".
Anybody home?
How can I help you? - It's about Jack Waldman.
I'm Moyshe Waldman.
Jack is Yankel. I wrote him a letter,
but I got no reply. Maybe it never reached, who knows.
You wrote us a letter? - Not us. To Jack Waldman.
Jack Waldman, in Washington.
I'm Moyshe Waldman.
From Benbenishti Street.
Yankel... Waldman.
I want to visit him. I want to tell him I am...
Sir, before traveling to the US you need to apply for a visa.
I'm his father, can't you see, I'm Yankel Waldman's father!
Hang on, I have a picture.
Let me show it to you.
It's an old photo, when Jack was still Yankel.
Sir...
Where is it now... Hang on.
Let me show it to you.
Sir, the embassy guard will give you a form to fill out.
Go to hell!
Have you gone through my wallet? - Huh?
Hilik!
An urgent job.
Kofico in the Army. The monkey who plays tricks on everyone.
I wish Kofiko were there with us at the concentration camp.
Are you hungry? Here's an egg sandwich, if you want.
There you go.
Dad, can you tell me what happened to Yankel and Rakhcheh in the Holocaust?
The SS officer came at night
and said there was an urgent job in the bindery.
We made notebooks for the German Army,
so they can write down who was to be taken away and where to.
Freukeh and I worked at the shop all night long.
We heard shots being fired outside and people shouting.
We were afraid to come out.
That morning I came back to an empty home.
I never saw them since. - What did you do?
What could I have done?
I sat down on the floor, cried for a week,
then I got up and that was that.
All the big heroes were the first ones to go.
If you wanted to live, you had to shut your heart tight.
You had to feel as little as possible,
and to forget as quickly as you can.
He didn't write back a single word, no-good-Jack.
You know, some people managed to escape.
They'd jump off the train and hide among the Poles.
I thought he might be alive.
Maybe he went to America. No such luck.
Even his photograph,
that I so desperately kept,
I kept it in my shoe all the time in the camp. Lost it.
It's a shame I survived.
He'll write back for sure. He'll even come here himself. You'll see.
Sure he will. He'll get off at the bus stop they'll never put.
Maybe he's ashamed that I'm his father. A bookbinder.
Maybe he's mad that I left him alone that night.
If he'd write: "It's me, Yankel. I'm alive". I'd understand.
He's an important man. Advisor to President Kennedy.
When are you coming back home?
I was just at the bank.
They told me you withdrew all the money.
That's just shameless. Can't they keep a secret?
You're forgetting it's my bank account, too.
What have you done with the money?
That's money set side for the apartment.
That's money I earned with my blood, slaving at the machine.
So you want to take the money and go to America? - What if I do?
Then go ahead! Go right ahead.
My aunt was right.
I should never have married you.
It's a shame Rakhcheh had to die. - A crying shame!
Maybe with her you could've been happy.
Rakhcheh, with the prettiest legs in Radom...
How many times you think I can bear to listen to that?
You're not the only one whose entire family died.
I was there too, remember? In the showers.
So don't talk to me about Rakhcheh!
I want to live, Moyshe.
To live!
If not with you, then with somebody else. Do you understand?
What have you done with the picture? Huh?
Why did you take away my photograph?
You think I'll forget all about him? - Rakhcheh...
I'll never forget him. Ever!
Will you cut the Um Kulkum already?!
What is this, Saudi Arabia? Yemen?
"Rudy Zacks"
Where is it? - Entschuldigung?
My letter. I know you took it. - What letter, Bitte...
The letter from America. You collect stamps, don't you? - Ja...
Moyshe. - Don't "Moyshe" me, he took Yankel's letter!
American stamps are the most common ones.
I have plenty of them. - Right, sure you do.
He's not feeling well. - I'm feeling great!
Go to hell!
Hooligan!
Have you ever kissed?
I have. Three times. - With who? - What's it to you.
When Spratcus first met Varinia,
he told her he had never been with a woman before.
How old was he anyway? 10?
So when are you guys going to America?
I don't know. We didn't get any letter.
My dad's waiting for it all the time.
He goes looking for it in the neighbors' postboxes.
He's really going crazy. I'm scared something bad will happen to him.
So write him yourself. - Huh?
He just wants to know he's alive, right?
So write him: "Hi, dad. How are you?
"I'm alive and well. Thanks and goodbye, Yankel."
Are you crazy?! That's lying!
At least that will calm him down.
Do as you please. It's not like I care.
Moyshe, why don't you go see a doctor? - You go see a doctor.
Why did you have to tell me to write that letter?
I wouldn't be so disappointed. - It's not my fault he won't answer.
Everything's broken in half in this life.
I'll throw myself off the balcony and that's it.
Moyshe!
Let me put an end to it, once and for all.
Enough. It'll all be alright. Calm down now.
I want to die. - There, there... - I want to die.
"Courthouse"
What do you want?
Beat it.
How much is a letter?
"Translations, Letters, Wills"
Yes!
Hilik, a letter from America!
See, America's a different world. This is Israel, here,
where they treat you like trash. Not like over there.
Read it carefully and translate every word.
"Dear Mr. Waldman,
"I was very pleased to receive your letter.
"My family, too, came from Radom..."
Easy now, Moyshe.
"I don't know much about my childhood
"because I jumped off the train and spent the war in hiding...
In hiding. I knew it all along. Go on.
"I just wanted you to know that I'm alive."
He's alive! He's alive! He's alive!!! Go on.
"I know it would make you happy..."
Would it ever! I can't believe it. Go on.
"We must meet some time."
What does he mean, "some time"?
Weird. - What's so weird?
The man wants to come visit, what's so weird about that.
Maybe we're even family, who knows?
Yonatan, where are you going with that letter? Come here.
Did you hear that? He's alive!!!
Stop it... You crazy person!
He's alive!
They spelled "childhood" wrong, with a W for an H.
Jack makes spelling mistakes, too! What do you expect?
He was born in Radom too!
Are you going to keep reading that letter forever?
You can't even read English. - What do you want?
Sleep. Switch off the light, I have a headache.
You're so jealous. - Huh? - Is this because I got a letter?
Because Yankel is alive?
What would you say about me going to America? - Go ahead. - I will. - Go!
You have two boys here and a wife.
You're off looking for some Jack in America.
Can't you understand that Yankel's dead?
He's not dead. - He's dead.
People saw him die, they told you about it.
You've lost all your marbles.
Where are you going in the middle of night?
He's not dead, you hear? He's alive.
Mr. Waldman! What are you doing here?
What's this? Don't you have work?
Get on with it!
Hilik, stop playing with your food.
Enough. You're either reading, or strumming away on that guitar.
Put it down!
Look what you've done!
What's wrong with me reading?
You want me to turn out like you or like dad?
Is that what you want? - Dumb like me, you mean?
Mr. Know-it-all. Sure. Dumb old me.
Of course. I must be dumb if I'm still here.
This suit's too big. I feel like an idiot. - What are you talking about?
You look like a million pounds. Relax, Moyshe.
When are you going? - Soon. I have to get my passport and visa ready.
Can't Jack help out?
Go over to the consulate and tell them you're his father.
They won't help. I wrote him I'm coming. He needs to write back.
Listen. I have this friend who can get you a visa for cheap.
How much?
3,000 pounds. - How much?!
Nobody's forcing you.
He'll get you a visa no questions asked, no Jack and no Schmak.
Listen, if you're short on dough for the trip,
I'm willing to buy your share of the shop business for a good price.
The main thing is to get you to America.
That Jack will get you a job there.
You'll end up as the Whitehouse bookbinder!
Here they are, the girls. Look at those curves.
Freukeh. - Hey, sweetie.
May I introduce Hannaleh? - How do you do?
And her friend... - Rujka. - Moyshe.
We came in on the same ship, right?
Forget the ship. We're here now, in Israel.
And, tomorrow, Moyshe is going to America! - Not tomorrow.
I wanted to go to America, too. But my brother wanted Israel.
You have no idea who you're speaking to.
This man's son is advisor to President Kennedy.
Jack Waldman. - We don't know that for sure.
Yankel Waldman! From Radom!
Who else could he be?! - Are you serious?
He was sure he died in Auschwitz. Show them the letter.
Can you read English?
There's a spelling mistake. - There's no spelling mistake.
A toast! To Jack Waldman!
To the United States of Radom!
Better get used to it, they don't drink tea in America!
They all drink whiskey for breakfast there!
Eggs and whiskey, popcorn with whiskey!
I'll go put on my lipstick. Are you coming?
Well? Do you fancy her? - Who? Hannaleh? - She's mine.
How come? Did you leave Henya? - What's she got to do with it?
Hannaleh is Hannaleh, Henia is Henia.
You don't mix meat and milk together.
You know, I asked her to bring Rujka along. - Why?
For you, that's why.
Come in.
Where are the fishes? - They died.
I'll buy you new ones.
Hold on!
What's with you?!
Hannaleh tells me you've got a wife and two sons. Is that true?
I have one son, and he's in America. I'm going to visit him.
How do you know he's your son? - Didn't you read the letter?
It's got to be Yankel.
And what about your wife?
I don't love her.
Not like my first wife.
She had the prettiest legs in Radom.
I have nice legs, too. Look.
My husband, Janek, he just loved my legs.
He'd always say: "Rujka, you've got a pair of perfect legs."
Then I gave birth to Surkeh.
All my friends had blue veins in their legs, from the pregnancy.
Not me. As though I'd never given birth at all.
And Janek would rub oil on my legs every night.
He'd always say: "You have such smooth skin. Like a baby's."
Surkeh's legs took after mine, they were exactly the same.
"My little Rujka", that's what Janek would call her.
She was only four.
Even the SS soldier who took her away in camp said:
"What a beautiful little girl. Just like a doll."
She really did look like a china doll.
Even when he shot her in the head, she didn't bleed that much.
Only her face turned pale.
Then Janek took her in his arms and started screaming.
So the SS guard shot him in the head, too. - Stop it!
Stop.
It's in the past.
It's over.
It's over. Relax...
Come to me.
Janek...
My Janek...
Moyshe. - My Janek.
Janek... - Moyshe, Moyshe, Moyshe!
Janek, my love!
Rakhcheh!
Janek...
There. Does that hurt?
The letter dad got from America... - What about it?
What if dad found out it wasn't for real,
that the letter was just a lie?
I don't know which is best anymore.
If it's better that Yankel is alive or if he's dead.
I just know none of us will have any peace till we learn the truth.
Do you think Dad will come back?
You thought he wouldn't go see his son, now that he's alive?
So you think he'll go away and never come back?
I don't know. I just hope he doesn't go, and then find out
that it wasn't Jack who wrote him that letter
and get disappointed.
It's better he learned the truth before going away.
I just wanted... - I know you meant no harm.
How did you know?
A plain envelope, with plain stationary.
No Whitehouse watermark, no nothing.
And the stamp, it's not even from America.
Do you think he'd come home if he knew the truth? - I hope so.
And do you think mom would take him back?
Let me tell you something about mom.
When she was in Auschwitz
they told her friends and her to get out of the block at 6 AM.
"Blocks" was what they called the sheds they lived in.
It was wintertime.
Everything around was covered in snow.
And they told them to get in the shower room.
As they stepped in, they realized that it wasn't for a shower.
There was a hole in the ceiling, but not for water.
The walls had scratch marks on them.
Everyone started screaming when they shut the doors behind them.
They knew they were about to pour in the gas, and that they'd all die.
But guess what.
No gas and no nothing.
They opened the doors a couple of minutes later and sent them back.
No one knew why.
Maybe they ran out of gas that day.
Maybe the Nazis forgot to pay the gas bill, or...
maybe they just didn't feel like killing Jews that morning.
Mom's best friend tripped in the snow on the way back.
Mom turned back to help her up, so they wouldn't kill her.
Then the German guard hit mom as hard as he could on the leg.
That's how she got her limp.
But that was nothing for mom.
Coming out of that shower alive is like your life being given to you.
Have you any idea how much strength that can give you?
But, dad, dad's a different story.
He's still there, looking for his dead son.
Moyshe...
Leave me alone.
What are you doing? Tell me.
You have two sons who miss you. Hilik keeps asking... - What sons?
I don't even know if they're mine. - Huh?
They look nothing like me. - Yonatan is your spitting image...
How come they don't have the illness? Neither Yonatan nor Hilik.
No, they don't, thank God! Is this all because of the letter?
Have you lost your mind? - I'm going to America.
When? - Soon.
I wrote to Yankel and Freukeh's arranging me a visa.
So he's arranging visas too, now?
What are you giving Freukeh for his trouble?
I know that conman.
I bet he wants to buy off your share of the business.
A conman? Freukeh?
I've known him since I was a kid, he's a like a father to me.
I know, you owe him your life. - You don't know nothing.
He walked to Munich to get me some bread...
And the Russians took it away from him on his way. I know.
It doesn't matter now. - Yes, it does matter now!
Freukeh wouldn't give up! He went back to Munich
to get another loaf of bread, for me, for his friend.
But now he's thinking of no one but himself.
I'm wasting my breath on you. - Don't you dare sell to him!
Go to America if you want, but why like this?
Because you don't want me to go, you won't let me.
Because my Yankel is alive, and you have no one left.
You said people at Auschwitz saw him
being taken to the crematorium already dead.
Maybe they're mistaken. Wouldn't be the first time.
They took you there and sent you back, didn't they?
If Yankel writes me back, let me know right away.
Give this to Yonatan. New books from the bindery.
Come back home, Moyshe, or you'll end up losing that, too.
You'll end up with nothing!
Why are you kissing a roll?! - My father told me to.
That's what they did in the Holocaust.
But that was back then, in the Diaspora.
We're in Israel now, we don't kiss bread here. We eat it.
Go on, let's play. - I don't want to.
It's all because of you, you idiot! - What's because of me?
You said I should write the letter. Now my dad left us.
It's all your fault!
You wrote him that letter?! - Yes. - Why? - You told me to!
I was kidding, you psycho!
You want your dad to go to America? - Isn't that what you wanted?
Like your dad ran away with your mom's assistant.
You son of a bitch. I'm not telling you anything ever again.
What are you doing, you retard?! Get that ball! - Go get it yourself.
I'm never speaking with you ever again. - Who needs you?
You smelly bible-reader! - You disgusting pork eater!
You bread-kissing moron!
Go on home, have some gefilte fish!
I hope to God something bad happens to you.
What do you mean, "something bad"? - You'll see.
I saw my wife today. She came to see me at work.
What did she want? - What do you think?
Surkeh had quite a cry.
When? - This morning. She banged her knee, so I kissed it for her.
And she kept asking me: "You love me more than anything, right?"
So I sang to her...
You have to be careful with kids.
Yankel put his hand on the stove one winter and got a nasty burn.
Poor thing. - He cried all night. Rokhcheh put cold cloth on it.
We went to the movies that Saturday, though.
Charlie Chaplin's "The Great Dictator".
Yankel laughed so much...
Are you sure it's him? - Who?
Yankel, in America. - Sure.
Why aren't you going, then? - Who says I'm not?
I'm just waiting for the letter to arrive.
Aren't you afraid that you'll be disappointed?
That you come all the way over there, and it won't be him?
Wanna get married?
What for? - To have kids, that's what for.
So the Nazis can come and take them away?
What Nazis? This is Israel.
You think there aren't any Nazis here?
That was it? It's over and done with?
That's so naive of you.
The Gestapo could break in and take you away any second.
Don't worry, I won't let them.
Once is enough.
I'm just waiting for them. I'll shoot them down like stray dogs.
What's that? Where did you get that from?
I bought it. - Give me that. - No.
Give me that. - No. - Rujka, give me that.
The war's over, the Nazis lost. Now, give me that. - No!
Give me that, what's with you... - No! - Give me that, Rujka!
You're completely nuts!
No, the war's not over. No!
Is everything alright? - She went completely nuts.
Call an ambulance, there's a phone in the hall.
Rujka, what happened?
And then she asks him: "And what am I? A chicken?"
We were just talking about you!
What's wrong, is everything alright?
Your friend's absolutely mad. She pulled a gun!
Were you fighting? - No.
She tried to kill herself three times already.
Now you tell me?
Do I look like I need a suicidal maniac on my back?
You're so egotistic. - I'm egotistic?
What's going on with my visa? - That's what's on your mind now?
Your visa?
I gave you 2,000 pounds. Where's my visa?
Freukeh, I won't sell you my share of the business, you hear?
Ya'akov Epstein,
searching for his sister, Haya, born 1912,
last seen in 1942 in Treblinka...
Come in.
Hilik? What are you doing here?
You're right on time. Let's go get something to eat.
"My lovely bird, now you've come back,
"from the land of the sun to windowsills.
"Your voice, a voice so pleasing.
"How ailing my soul turns
"at winter, when you leave my abode."
Are you sure you're not hungry?
They have great meatballs, just like mom makes them.
How are things at home? - Everything's fine.
Did Yonatan eat up all the books yet?
A regular professor. And did you finish your Magic Lantern?
Good.
I don't know what mom told you... - That you were going to America.
That's what she said? I might. So what?
You got a letter.
Where from? America? Let me have it.
What does it say?
That he's very sorry but he can't arrange a visa for you.
That's nonsense. You don't even speak English.
My teacher, Batia, told me what is said. - Who cares about Batia?
He wrote me right here he was from Radom.
See?
I wrote that letter.
What?
I went to the courthouse, where they sit with their typewriters.
I told the man what to put down.
What?!
That's the letter they sent.
He's not your son. His name's Jack. Not Yankel.
He was born in America. In Los Angeles.
And he doesn't have the illness.
All I wanted was for you to know.
How could you do such a thing? Have you no shame?
I saw how you waited for a letter, day after day.
I didn't think you'd leave home. - Then what did you think?!
What did you think?
Yankel was my first born.
If it weren't for the Goddamned Nazis who murdered him,
you wouldn't have even been born!
You wouldn't be alive today.
I'm sorry I'm alive. But your Yankel is dead. Dead!
I just wanted to make you happy. That's why I wrote the letter.
So your heart wouldn't pop out. I wanted to make you happy!
Hilik!
No!!!
Better take care of your son, daddy!
You con artist! You bastard! - What are you talking about...
The money! The 2,000 pounds! You took my 2,000 pounds.
No visa, no nothing. You cheat! - I don't wanna be that way,
I can't help myself! All because of Goddamned Hitler.
Because of Hitler you want to take my share of the business?
Because of Hitler you want to leave me with nothing?
He's going to kill me. Help!
You let me go on believing Yankel was alive. Why?!
So you could rip me off? Why?!
Is it my fault he died? Did I send him to the crematorium?
What do you want from me?!
You think you'll be left with nothing?
You have two children. What have I got?
A Chevy and a wife who didn't stop crying for the last 20 years?
That's what I've got.
Oh, my God.
Take me under your wing
And be a sister and a mother to me...
Hello there. - I had to speak with my dad.
OK, dear. Sit down.
I told him the truth.
To whom? - My dad.
The nest of my forgotten prayers
And at a time of mercy between the setting and rising suns
Sit by me and I will tell you
The secret of my chagrin
They say there is youth to be found
Where is mine?
A gift. For you.
They say there is youth to be found...
Thanks.
And this is a new record. It's about the ghetto.
Why won't you get out of bed, dad? - Dunno.
I don't have the energy.
Does your heart hurt? Does it want to pop out?
No, Hilik.
The heart doesn't want to pop out.
You know what, Hilik? I can't even feel my heart.
I can't feel it beating. - So that's a good thing, right?
Who knows? Maybe it is.
Maybe I don't even have a heart.
Are you still upset with me because of the letter? - No, no.
It was nothing. A pleasant dream.
You know where the stamp you put on the envelope came from?
Roumania.
Jack Waldman from Roumania...
It's all one big nothing, Hilik. No lucky breaks. No Yankel.
My best friend's ripping me off and even the bus stop...
I begged them to put... I must've written a 100 letters.
Nothing. Bupkis.
Maybe someone gave you the evil eye.
Maybe, Hilik. Maybe you're right.
Someone must've given me the evil eye.
So I'll take it out of you.
You know it's a load of nonsense, all that spitting, don't you?
Fairytales. Like mom says.
You know what Spartacus said?
"Peace of mind may not exist, but one must keep loyal to one's self."
That's what Spartacus said? - In the movie.
That's what Kirk Douglas said.
It's Hollywood. It's all one big lie. It's all...
hocus pocus. - Not all of it.
Look, dad. The illness.
Since when is this? - I noticed it last night. Almost like you've got.
I'm sorry, Hilik. I'm sorry.
We better find another place for this.
"It's noon.
The sun's beating thru the cracks
"It's very hot. People grow wild.
"Water! Give us some water!
"Attention! All passengers must leave
"their luggage and get off the train."
I found it in the garbage behind the movie theater.
But it's just still pictures. Useless.
It's the best. You can notice stuff you'd never notice in the movie.
Like what?
Look at Varinia's sandals. Do they look Roman to you?
My mother has a pair just like them!
Say, Moyshe...
Are my legs that ugly?
You have great legs.
Yeah?
Gorgeous.
Look there. See that? That's a truck.
How can you tell? - Watch the following frame.
The Roman truck rolled past!
And this one, I just like it a lot.
Spartacus and Varinia before the decisive battle.
Hilik, wake up! Come quick!
Come see!
They're putting up a bus stop. Just like I asked in the letter.
My bus stop! - The bus company's.
So what do you think? Is the bus going to come? - It will.
Will it stop here, next to our home? - Sure it will. You'll see.
Something's coming...
Even though dad knew Yankel was dead, he was never actually with us.
Yankel continued appearing to dad.
During the day when dad was awake, and at night, in his dreams.
But even when dad wandered to the dead, he always came back to us.
To his family, the only life he had,
a regular life that fulfilled him sometimes with small victories.
In memory of my parents Rachel and Aharon Feldman
and in memory of Yekhiel my brother I never knew
Translation: Canaan Liphshiz
Subtitles: Cinematyp Studios Ltd.