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Hester Street

Play trailer Poster for Hester Street PG 1976 1h 30m Comedy Drama Play Trailer Watchlist
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81% Tomatometer 31 Reviews 69% Popcornmeter 500+ Ratings
Dealing with themes of assimilation, this film, set in the early 1900s, focuses on the experiences of an immigrant family in New York City. Gitl (Carol Kane) has just arrived in America from Russia with her son. She has come to meet her husband, Jake (Steven Keats), who has been in the States for some time and is comfortably settled. While Gitl struggles to find her place in this country, she clashes with Jake, who has fully embraced their new homeland.
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Hester Street

Critics Reviews

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Pauline Kael The New Yorker A small, ironic story told without much attempt at depth of characterization. Oct 20, 2023 Full Review Clayton Dillard Slant Magazine Joan Micklin Silvers Hester Street is a distinctly 70s-era mix of stylistic sparseness and thematic revisionism. Apr 19, 2022 Full Review Walter Goodman New York Times The story is well paced to hold one's interest... Dec 13, 2017 Full Review Brian Orndorf Blu-ray.com Silver pulls off something of a miracle with "Hester Street," managing to capture a time and place without the benefit of a budget or major stars, putting her faith in the power of the conflicts provided here. Rated: A- Mar 12, 2025 Full Review Brandon Judell Brandon Judell (Medium) Has you asking, “What chance do centuries-old traditions have in the New World?” Discovering the winner is the delight of this beautifully textured recreation of a time when being an immigrant had its challenges, not like now. Oh, forgot about Guantanamo. Rated: 8/10 Feb 6, 2025 Full Review Marya E. Gates Cool People Have Feelings, Too. (Substack) Gitl’s determination to hold on to her beliefs and to craft the most loving home she can for her son, no matter what the world around her pressures her to do, is the kind of strength we should all aspire towards. Aug 16, 2024 Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

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Howard P Wonderful historic overview of Hester Street and immigrant life in NYC during the early 20th century. Excellent acting. The sound of voices needed to be louder and more subtitles included. I missed portions of the dialogue. Carol Kane's performance was outstanding. Rated 4 out of 5 stars 10/31/21 Full Review CAM I enjoyed the visual images of NYC at that time. I disliked the main character so much I couild not find any empathy so was mostly annoyed....one person in the audience laughed at the absurdity but I could not find humor in the extremes. Rated 2 out of 5 stars 10/24/21 Full Review Ivan S The movie is mediocre unfortunately — great recreation of late 19th C Lower East Side but the characters are all cardboard caricatures, the story is such a stereotype — not interesting at all. Glad I went, but no reason to watch more than the first 45 mi utes or so. Rated 3 out of 5 stars 09/04/23 Full Review Audience Member Shows that even low budget movies can be historically accurate. I love how every scene of the movie emphasizes the total lack of privacy, with nearly every intimate moment on full display to the neighbors and community. Rated 4 out of 5 stars 02/13/23 Full Review Julia M A great film, with magnificent performances by Carol Kane as Gitl and Doris Roberts as Mrs. Kavarsky. The rest of the cast is also excellent, as is the nuanced direction by Joan Micklin Silver. And the depiction of early 20th century life on the lower East Side is unforgettable. Rated 5 out of 5 stars 03/01/21 Full Review Audience Member Shot in all black and white this is an immigration story about what it is to find love in America. It's 1896 and an immigrant family in NYC are trying to get used to assimilation. Jake is the head of the family A woman named Gitl has arrived with her son seeking her husband. When she and Jake rum into one another things change entirely. She and her son are introduced to the customs and cultural norms of this country but of course it'll take time to fully integrate. Jake is caught in a bind though knowing too many women and even his wife. This movie is very short but Carol Kane and Steven Keats work quite well despite not having too much screentime together. For a pilgrim coming to America there's a lot to be had Rated 3 out of 5 stars 01/22/23 Full Review Read all reviews
Hester Street

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Cast & Crew

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Joan Micklin Silver

Director

Steven Keats

Jake

Carol Kane

Gitl

Mel Howard

Bernstein

Dorrie Kavanaugh

Mamie

Doris Roberts

Mrs. Kavarsky

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Hester Street

Hester Street (1975) Hester Street (1975) View more photos

Movie Info

Synopsis Dealing with themes of assimilation, this film, set in the early 1900s, focuses on the experiences of an immigrant family in New York City. Gitl (Carol Kane) has just arrived in America from Russia with her son. She has come to meet her husband, Jake (Steven Keats), who has been in the States for some time and is comfortably settled. While Gitl struggles to find her place in this country, she clashes with Jake, who has fully embraced their new homeland.
Director
Joan Micklin Silver
Producer
Raphael D. Silver
Screenwriter
Joan Micklin Silver, Abraham Cahan
Production Co
Midwest Films
Rating
PG
Genre
Comedy, Drama
Original Language
English
Release Date (Theaters)
Aug 24, 1976, Original
Release Date (Streaming)
Nov 21, 2019
Runtime
1h 30m
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