Sholem Aleichem: Laughing in the Darkness

Released Jul 8, 2011

1h 33m

Documentary

List

100%

Tomatometer

43 Reviews

68%

Audience Score

500+ Ratings

Filmmaker Joseph Dorman presents the life, work and legacy of the Yiddish writer who used the vernacular of the common man.

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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.

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Kenneth Turan

Los Angeles Times

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.

Sep 23, 2020

Full Review

Rick Groen

Globe and Mail

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.

Rated: 3/4

Feb 24, 2012

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Anita Li

Toronto Star

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.

Rated: 2.5/4

Feb 23, 2012

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Susan G. Cole

NOW Toronto

An important doc for anyone who cares about literature.

Rated: 4/5

Sep 23, 2020

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Chris Knight

National Post

Dorman's well-researched documentary is aided by numerous archival photographs, both of 19th-century Jewish life and of Sholem Aleichem himself.

Rated: 3/5

Sep 23, 2020

Full Review

Clint O'Connor

Cleveland Plain Dealer

Dorman's documentary reveals how one man's prolific writings could have such a profound effect on both assessing and advancing a language and a culture.

Rated: A

Sep 23, 2020

Full Review

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Audience Member

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.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

02/25/23

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Audience Member

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.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

02/21/23

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Audience Member

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

Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars

01/18/23

Full Review

Audience Member

Not bad. Only because I want to make Fiddler on the Roof a real, living woman and make her the mother to our children.

Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars

02/09/23

Full Review

Audience Member

is Sholem Aleichem an anagram for Holmes Michael/Michael Holmes?

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

02/25/23

Full Review

Audience Member

Very well made. It's very surprising that his children did not know Yiddish.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

02/24/23

Full Review

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Joseph Dorman

Director

Alan Rosenberg

Narrator

Rachel Dratch

Shayne Sheyndl

Joseph Dorman

Writer

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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
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

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