Rotten Tomatoes
Cancel Movies Tv shows RT App News Showtimes

Sholem Aleichem: Laughing in the Darkness

Play trailer Poster for Sholem Aleichem: Laughing in the Darkness 2011 1h 33m Documentary Play Trailer Watchlist
Watchlist Tomatometer Popcornmeter
100% Tomatometer 44 Reviews 68% Popcornmeter 500+ Ratings
Filmmaker Joseph Dorman presents the life, work and legacy of the Yiddish writer who used the vernacular of the common man.

Where to Watch

Sholem Aleichem: Laughing in the Darkness

Sholem Aleichem: Laughing in the Darkness

What to Know

Critics Consensus

Sholem Aleichem: Laughing in the Darkness serves as an effective primer on its subject, as well as an evocative portrait of the era in which he lived.

Read Critics Reviews

Critics Reviews

View More
Kenneth Turan Los Angeles Times 09/23/2020
The result is more than an examination of the contradictory life of the celebrated humorist and storyteller, it's a compelling cinematic look at the complex world of Eastern European Jews. Go to Full Review
Rick Groen Globe and Mail 02/24/2012
3/4
Not often does a film double as a literary critic, but this is the Northrop Frye of docs. Essentially, it revises and sharpens the blunted reputation of a great writer. Go to Full Review
Anita Li Toronto Star 02/23/2012
2.5/4
Audiences interested in Jewish literature will find Laughing in the Darkness compelling for its deep analysis of Aleichem's works, featuring a selection of experts and the writer's granddaughter, Bel Kaufman. Go to Full Review
Danielle Solzman Solzy at the Movies May 13
4.5/5
Sholem Aleichem: Laughing in the Darkness not only introduces Sholem Aleichem to a new generation but reminds audiences why he is one of the greatest Jewish writers of all time. Go to Full Review
Susan G. Cole NOW Toronto 09/23/2020
4/5
An important doc for anyone who cares about literature. Go to Full Review
Chris Knight National Post 09/23/2020
3/5
Dorman's well-researched documentary is aided by numerous archival photographs, both of 19th-century Jewish life and of Sholem Aleichem himself. Go to Full Review
Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

View More
07/22/2014 It would be hard to rate a documentary about how the stories that make up one of my favourite movies / musicals with anything less than five stars. I've probably seen the movie Fiddler on the Roof 20 times. I've seen the musical 3 times. I know the stories. I love the stories. So given the opportunity to hear about the author and how he came to these stories was a great thrill. See more 01/07/2014 A deep, almost academic, exploration of the ground-breaking Yiddish writer's work. If you enjoy Fiddler on the Roof, you will find this fascinating. See more 03/12/2013 A very nice documentary about the man who first wrote the stories of "Tevye the Milkman" which became the basis for the musical "Fiddler on the Roof." The documentary can also serve as an invitation to better appreciate the Romantic movement of the time, which helped produce most of the modern nation states of Europe as well as the modern state of Israel. - http://frdennismoviereviews.blogspot.com/2011/09/sholem-aleichem-laughing-in-darkness.html See more 03/02/2012 Not bad. Only because I want to make Fiddler on the Roof a real, living woman and make her the mother to our children. See more 01/27/2012 is Sholem Aleichem an anagram for Holmes Michael/Michael Holmes? See more 12/04/2011 Very well made. It's very surprising that his children did not know Yiddish. See more Read all reviews
Sholem Aleichem: Laughing in the Darkness

My Rating

Read More Read Less POST RATING WRITE A REVIEW EDIT REVIEW
Woody Allen: A Documentary 91% 87% Woody Allen: A Documentary Watchlist A Film Unfinished 98% 86% A Film Unfinished Watchlist Free Radicals: A History of Experimental Film 86% 59% Free Radicals: A History of Experimental Film Watchlist Inventing Our Life: The Kibbutz Experiment 82% 86% Inventing Our Life: The Kibbutz Experiment Watchlist Ferlinghetti 64% % Ferlinghetti Watchlist Discover more movies and TV shows. View More

Movie Info

Synopsis Filmmaker Joseph Dorman presents the life, work and legacy of the Yiddish writer who used the vernacular of the common man.
Director
Joseph Dorman
Producer
Joseph Dorman
Screenwriter
Joseph Dorman
Distributor
International Film Circuit [us]
Genre
Documentary
Original Language
English
Release Date (Theaters)
Jul 8, 2011, Limited
Release Date (Streaming)
Mar 30, 2016
Box Office (Gross USA)
$906.7K
Runtime
1h 33m
Most Popular at Home Now