Voyages (1999) Movie Script
This way!
Follow me, please.
Truly a dead city,
this is one of Europe's
largest Jewish cemeteries.
Before World War Two,
the Jewish community in Poland
numbered some 3.5 million.
Many were politicians,
economists, artists, scientists,
writers, historians, philanthropists...
TRACKS
Morning, Mrs. Goldstein!
Come on in! It's cold out.
- Sleep well?
- Yes! And you?
Who has the camera?
Milo! You weren't at breakfast.
What were you up to?
Morning, Rivka.
Sleep well?
No? Why not?
- I couldn't sleep.
- You'll soon feel better.
- Mind if I sit there?
- Not at all.
I need some peace.
Yesterday, the couple in front of me
kvetched all day long!
Sleep well?
I had heartburn all night.
You don't say.
You asked me.
Welcome aboard, everyone.
You didn't shave?
Again, please excuse my bad French.
We'll be driving west
through Warsaw,
and onward to Katowice.
It's under 5 hours'drive. Thank you.
This tunnel under the Vistula comes out
in the Prague quarter.
Above us
On your left,
the Palace of Art and Science,
built on Stalin's orders.
The roof garden on the 30th floor
Sorry, am I blocking
- May I?
- Sure.
This is Jean Paul II Avenue
with its mix of postwar
and modern architecture.
The ghetto, now gone,
ran east from here
to Bonifraterska Street,
where a wall cut it off
from the rest of the city.
The monument on your left
commemorates
who held off the German army
for 3 weeks in the spring of '43.
The inhabitants,
some 450,000, were deported
and exterminated at Treblinka.
You've been before?
No, never.
I pictured it differently.
Everything okay?
Mr. Zalcberg?
I'll be watching you today.
Look out!
Weren't you bothered? Out alone?
You saw that taxi driver
hanging around us?
You especially, Mrs. Zalcberg.
Didn't you see him?
Like I said,
keep your purse under your arm!
Especially abroad!
It's not our bags they're after.
You have a short memory!
Be quiet already!
What a nerve!
I'm not here to see Poles.
What Poles?
I don't see any.
It was a group decision, like always.
Next time, hitchhike to Auschwitz!
Couples!
I came on my own.
My wife and sons were against it.
They said it would be too hard
but I think they just don't care.
But their grandparents
died there, right?
This is my oldest, with his kids.
He's a professor. Stomatology.
Did you lose family
in the camps?
My parents and sister were deported.
- This is your first trip?
- Yes.
My granddaughter and her mother.
Cute, isn't she?
Look at those horrible buildings!
They killed all their Jews.
Massacred them.
You don't give a damn.
Not one Jew left.
- Living like rats.
- Dad!
Skip it. No Pole ever hurt me.
See what nice houses they have?
Had a quarrel with your wife?
I forgot her in the cemetery yesterday.
Okay, so?
How long do I have
to be punished?
Mr. Adler,
I had the same trouble with my wife.
That boy's her spitting image.
Try talking to him!
Like mother, like son.
We're slowing down.
Seem to be stopping.
What's the time?
Ladies and gentlemen,
a small technical problem.
We're making a short stop.
Don't worry,
the driver will fix it.
Looks like the radiator.
Where are we?
I've no idea.
I thought I heard a tire burst.
- Maybe it's the lunch stop.
- Already?
It's an air hose.
- What's up?
- One moment...
Has he never seen smoke?
Friends!
Quiet, please. Calm down.
Mr Buhl, our driver,
tells me we've broken down.
Keep calm.
He's going to call a repairman.
We're not far
Doctor! Doctor!
Sit down!
Let the doctor through.
She's coming round.
She's done this before.
It's her nerves.
I'm used to it.
The first ambush victim!
Need to stretch my legs.
You sulked all night already.
Everyone forgets things.
What's the problem?
Madam can't stay
with the group. No!
She wanders off.
Stop this endless brooding!
What am I doing here?
It was your idea, remember?
What?
You think I wanted to come?
You think I'm enjoying this?
Don't hush me!
Let me speak, please.
Stop. I don't feel well.
When do you feel well?
Rehashing the same old stories
all your life.
What good will it do you
You still don't understand.
What are you looking for?
Respect me, please.
What next?
I came with you. I'm here.
What more do you want from me?
Look where it's got us.
If you could see your face!
A sick woman.
Going out? It's freezing!
It's cold in here, too.
Okay, Batia?
Won't be long now.
Tell us the truth!
I'm very sorry about this.
The house has no phone.
How much longer?
Mr. Buhl has gone to find one.
Speak up!
Unfortunately, without the engine
there's no heating.
We're getting blankets
and trying to open that bar, there.
We can't sit here!
Don't worry, friends.
A bus is coming from Katowice.
We have our lunch trays.
Eat, don't worry.
We'll feel better
once we've eaten.
It'll be like...
Club Mediterranee!
...antisemites massacring each other.
It's history. It's true.
What's that to do
with elections in Israel?
You're asking me what Israel
has to do with history?
Do you know what we mean
to Israel, Mr. Milo?
- We?
- All of us! The diaspora.
What Israel expects from us?
I'm sorry to interrupt
but he's right.
What has this to do with Yugoslavia?
Excellent question!
Be smart. Learn from history.
What do you know of Israel?
The Hilton?
Hilton? What do you mean?
You don't eat cabbage?
Sorry. Some things make me angry.
Where were we?
Katowice is here.
About 2 hours' drive.
You live right in Tel Aviv?
In a suburb.
I have a lovely garden.
Do you ever miss Paris?
Sometimes, yes.
Yes.
I like remembering that.
Strangely, just before I joined this trip
By pure chance!
She recognized me.
It often happens.
My wife's cousin and her sister
were neighbors for 30 years,
unawares.
Ruthman's wife.
He worked on Rue Poissonniere.
I knew it well.
Near the Rex. A belt factory,
run by a burly guy,
What's the difference?
Leon Tordjman, Joe Schmo Tordjman...
My landlord in Paris
I'm eating!
They walked right past each other!
On the other hand,
when I sold neckties,
I knew people who traced relatives,
only to find total strangers
with exactly the same name!
A customer of mine
saw his own obituary in Le Figaro.
What upset him most?
The paper comes out, nobody calls!
Not one friend!
- If he's dead...
- Not even his son.
He says "You're Max Klein?"
I say "So what if I am?"
"I'm Nathan Wurman. Remember me?
How are you doing, old friend?"
I think "Wurman?
He insists, so we meet in a caf.
There, I see an old fellow
I don't recognize.
You know who it was?
We'd slept together,
worked together, seen it all together!
We were children.
Two little children.
From his wallet, he brings out
My parents!
I'd smuggled it into the camp.
Wurman found it near my blanket
- you know how we slept -
and he kept it.
I didn't even know he was alive.
He gave it back.
It was fantastic.
He asked if I got a German pension,
then we parted. Had a coffee,
I want him to know.
You have children?
No, unfortunately.
I'm here for my wife.
- Not eating, Dad?
- Not hungry.
- Heartburn?
- No, I'm not hungry.
Are you in trouble?
Yes, big trouble.
Cracked radiator.
Definitely.
Look! Spare seats!
We could get a ride.
No, I'm staying here.
Why? They have empty seats.
I came with the group,
I stay with the group.
They're lucky.
- Not too cold?
- No, it feels good!
What did I tell you? Snow!
So there were 71 of us.
Two of us had pistols.
A friend and I.
The rest were untrained.
They weren't soldiers.
I'd been in the army...
It won't last. It'll melt.
Henri!
Come on!
A lulav. For Sukkoth prayers.
It was a beautiful country, nonetheless.
Come on! All aboard!
Something wrong?
Your asthma?
I knew we shouldn't have come.
What's the point?
You'll never understand.
You're at it again?
You push me to the limit,
time and time again.
Me?
I want no more to do with you.
You made me unhappy.
You always were unhappy.
All your life, always moaning!
Living with ghosts!
While I do what? Listen?
Do you ever think about me?
What I put up with?
You're self-obsessed.
Here we go!
I'm sick of you,
sick of living with you.
I'm going to stay
in Paris with my cousin.
No way I'm going back
to Tel Aviv with you!
Maybe this isn't the right time...
You disgust me.
Your breath disgusts me.
You never loved me.
Now it's my turn.
I don't love you anymore.
What are you saying?
Enough.
- Go away.
- Where to?
Sit down.
Behave.
Don't worry.
Everything will fall back into line.
It's too late...
to change anything now.
Was any family not afflicted?
All were afflicted.
Those sons of bitches
and their minions in Europe
who helped to destroy us!
Curse them forever!
I forgot my name was Samuel Grinbaum.
I was a number!
"126-751! Do this!"
What were we?
Nothing!
They wanted my birth certificate!
From Poland!
I don't know where I was born.
Or even when!
Friends, friends! Quiet please.
Let me thank you all
for being here this afternoon
to watch this film
Please come again
- I mean the season! -
on the absorption
You know how much our Club
I see some of you are already asleep!
So I'll end on a lighter note.
Ladies and gentlemen...
Jo Bernstein!
Hi, honey.
I'm fine.
I just got back.
From the Club.
They showed the film.
How's the baby?
Tonight? Get going, then.
Yes, speaking.
Landsman.
Just one N.
Before that?
Why?
Graneck. C,K.
A sister? Yes.
But who are you, Monsieur?
What?
Who do you want to talk to?
Yes, in Paris. Belleville.
Until 1942.
How do you know all this?
Where are you now?
Vilnius?
I was waiting for you to call.
Listen.
I've been thinking all night.
Are you sure about this?
You can't be. My father's dead.
You're mistaken.
With my mother and sister.
You realize what you're saying?
What a commotion!
You know,
I never thought I'd be back here.
I have the letter.
You want to see the letter?
I can't read Yiddish.
You can't?
Did your parents
teach you nothing?
You know,
I didn't recognize you at first.
I didn't know what to think.
You have an old dad!
It's been so long.
You were just a little child!
Aren't you hot in your coat?
All the Germans had left the camp
but people still died every day.
We started walking.
After, maybe, ten days
we were only 60 miles
from the Russian border
and there I stopped.
I couldn't take another step.
No strength.
I couldn't go on.
Good. That's better.
And there I stayed.
I fell sick.
They sent me to a hospital in Danzig.
I stayed there
four, five months, maybe six.
I remember nothing about it.
Not one memory of the hospital.
A mental blank.
Danzig became Polish,
Poland became Soviet
and I, as an ex-Lithuanian citizen,
was sent back to Vilnius.
And there I stayed.
I wasn't allowed to leave.
I found nothing there.
Nothing. Nobody.
No poppa, no momma... nobody.
Nobody.
I couldn't even remember
where I was born!
That's the story.
Nothing we can do about it.
Grandma said you went to Israel
and we'd join you there.
What could I do?
I was 7. A child.
After I met my husband,
I asked around.
Clubs, friends...
I even wrote to America.
In '56
I heard you'd all been rounded up
and deported together
to Auschwitz in late July.
I have the convoy number.
But it's not true!
Your mother and I,
right after the roundup,
lost each other.
As soon as we arrived, we got split up.
The same day!
I can sleep on the couch.
I first came to Paris on February 12th.
That I remember.
Memory, memory, that's my problem.
In Paris...
the early days were hard.
I worked very hard.
We finally got papers
and lived as well as we could.
We scraped by.
When did you meet Mom?
We met at a wedding party.
She spoke no French.
Good looking, too.
That makes you laugh?
You can't imagine me
being good looking?
A present for you.
I hope you like it.
It's only a small thing.
Very pretty!
The Grands Boulevards!
And these?
Pictures of my second wife.
My wife, again.
She was beautiful.
You smoke too much.
It's nothing new.
Aren't you cold?
I'll turn up the heating.
Good looking kid!
How old is he again?
He was four last month.
Four.
The oldest girl is 10.
They live in Strasbourg.
You'll see them next Sunday.
When Dora heard you were coming
she wanted to jump on a train!
Your daughter looks incredibly like you.
That's not Dora.
It's Michele, Raymond's niece.
Michele?
This wasn't addressed to you.
I know. Go on.
The sender's address is on it, here.
I'm not interested in that.
How are you doing?
He's riddled with cancer.
"Three women born Graneck
in Paris.
Hard to find out their first names.
One of them never married.
She was buried in Paris
under her maiden name."
Is that a 7?
Looks like it.
So she died in '78.
"Another one married,
became Mrs. Landsman.
Still living in Paris."
That's you?
Yes.
"There's a record of a third.
She became Mrs. Adler
in 1959."
And then?
"Suggest you look beyond Paris.
Maybe in Israel."
Thank you.
Such bad handwriting!
You're tracing your family?
You know how cold it is
back home right now?
We couldn't sit outside like this.
We'd catch pneumonia
just by yawning!
I need to change some money.
Can I ask you something?
Do you have commitments
back in Vilnius?
Commitments?
I told you, I'm alone.
Dad?
Do you remember our house?
Our house?
The address where we lived.
Do you remember it?
When they rounded you up,
do you remember
what you said to me?
To make sure that I would run away?
What are you after, sweetie?
What do you want me to say?
You're wrong!
Wrong all along.
What are you saying?
I'll help you search.
Meanwhile you can stay here.
I can fend for myself.
Why go?
Unpack your bag.
Only 95/60.
I have no more gall bladder.
Breathe in.
Thank you.
Asthma in the family?
I don't know.
Is it a chill? He coughs.
Could be both.
Can I get dressed?
Go ahead.
A full week of antibiotics.
We need tests.
Watch his breathing.
His name?
Can you use mine?
Landsman.
We're okay.
No, he's asleep.
Yes, he's fine.
I'll give him your love.
Is Jonas better?
Wrap up the kids!
We'll see you on Sunday, right?
I sound odd?
Don't be silly.
I told you, he's having a nap.
See you Sunday.
- She starts high school next year.
- Big girl!
Wine, Mr. Graneck?
Yes, please.
And two carrots!
Your grandma's a great cook!
Like it?
The boy's not eating?
You like kneidlers?
Pass your plate.
Okay, sweetie?
Eat up, then.
You should meet my mother.
Best broth I've had in years!
Have a drop more.
I'll eat while it's hot.
Come, Jonas. Broth is good.
Come on now, Jonas.
Do I hear the baby?
Anything missing?
Don't you want to be the horse?
You're a caballero in that hat!
Jonas! Don't, dear.
You'll hurt Grandpa.
- Tell him, Dora.
- Jonas, don't!
Here, dear. Have some cake.
I'm okay.
Was I a good horse?
Doing okay?
Your attention, please!
Welcome to Israel.
For immigration,
please prepare your passports, photos
and the forms
you filled out on the plane.
The State of Israel
is happy to welcome you.
On behalf of Israel,
welcome home!
Once you've received the money,
proceed down the hall...
Once you've completed the formalities
you'll be given an Israeli passport
written in Hebrew.
Then you'll reclaim your baggage.
Lewin family to the desk, please.
Come along, Daniel.
Vera, come too.
Are you one family?
- No, but she's with us.
- Please wait your turn.
- We're together.
- By family only.
Are you okay?
Welcome. This way.
Stay together.
Welcome.
Vera, I've managed to get us all
in the same room.
Give me your bags.
Vera!
- Any luck?
- Still no answer.
Sit down, have a bite. It's good.
He won't eat a thing.
Are you sure the address is correct?
I'm not sure.
It's so long since I had any news.
Ben Gurion Street...
Number 5, Apt. 40.
Ramat...
Ramat Gan.
Problem?
Vera,
are you sorry you came with us?
Of course not.
Try this Israeli cabbage.
Unknown in Moscow.
- It's Israeli?
- Yes. Good?
I've been meaning to tell you.
I may have ajob.
Down south. Near the desert.
There's construction work there.
They need labor.
Desert's beautiful.
Strong!
Down south?
You're leaving Tel Aviv?
Come with us.
But I have my...
You won't bother us.
I have my cousin here.
I have to see her.
After that...
After that I don't know.
Felix, come here a minute.
What are you telling her?
I can't go on living like this.
- I can't stand it!
- We already discussed this.
Shut up!
This heat!
The room next-door
has airconditioning.
The Promised Land!
It's no problem.
Things will work out.
I'm going out.
That way?
Do you speak Yiddish?
I speak a little French.
Did Mrs. Grunstein
A home?
One moment, please.
I have her address, here.
It's right across town.
I have to go to Tel Aviv?
- Is it far?
- On the south side.
Best thing, take a cab.
I have to go to Tel Aviv?
Do you speak Yiddish?
Don't you speak Yiddish?
That way?
Over there?
What's this?
Give me that.
You speak no Yiddish?
None at all?
Do you speak Russian?
Enough!
How much?
I didn't recognize you.
What a surprise...
It's been so long.
That's how it goes.
Let me look at you.
I wrote you letters...
- I didn't get them.
...no reply.
You're the same girl.
I recognize you!
Where were you all this time?
Vera, this is my boyfriend.
We met here.
Lubartow.
See? It's fate.
So we speak the same language.
Yiddish.
You look very happy here.
The food's good,
I have a nice room,
my friends come around
and we share all our thoughts.
We have good doctors,
good nurses.
They have everything they need.
They're very well equipped.
Here, we don't bother anybody.
Tell me, have you heard from Hannah?
Hannah?
She died last year, in May.
And you left everything in Moscow
to come here!
I'm Israeli now.
Fancy that!
So where's your husband?
Husband?
What are you talking about, Mina?
Do you speak Yiddish?
Yes, of course.
I'm trying to get
to my hotel in Richon.
Richon is the other way.
You're heading in the wrong direction.
I get off at the next stop.
Come with me. I'll show you.
You must cross the road
and take the Richon bus
or you'll wind up
at the bus station. Okay?
It's going to rain.
The air is heavy.
See? You only have to cross the road.
What's the matter? Are you okay?
It's the heat. It's so hot.
This is beautiful.
Come on in.
I'll get that.
Make yourself at home.
Have a nice cool drink.
This heat!
It's cooler indoors.
I thought people in Israel
spoke Yiddish.
It's getting rare.
It's spoken less and less.
I had no idea.
See how useful it is?
It seems there are no more Jews
in Israel, only Israelis!
I can't take this heat.
Are you from Russia?
Yes, near Moscow.
It's ages since I spoke Yiddish.
Not since my husband died.
It goes to show, you never forget.
Drink up.
- Nice and cool.
- Feeling better?
Yes, I'm better.
I just saw my cousin.
First time in 28 years!
Is this your first time in Israel?
I've come to live here.
You'll laugh, but I followed
my next-door neighbors.
Neighbors?
To immigrate,
and asked if I wanted to come.
I had nothing to lose.
I have a crazy streak
so here I am, and that's it.
An old Jewish woman.
How can I lose?
How brave!
That's my cousin,
when she still lived in Paris.
It's an old picture.
You lived in Paris?
Before the war,
I had a big family there.
Parents, cousins, sisters...
a big family.
Now they're all gone.
- Big family?
- Nobody now.
You have nobody back in Russia?
Do you mind if I stretch out my leg?
Make yourself comfortable.
My right leg.
It aches a little.
I didn't picture Israel like this.
The way my husband
used to talk about it...
Still, I'm glad to see the sea again.
I'm planning...
to visit the Negev Desert.
They say the desert's very strong.
The storm...
Rivka, look here!
Why ever can't you close
the window when it rains?
This rug is ruined!
- You want tea?
- Of course.
Yes, it is.
Rivka! For you, from Paris.
Graneck.
C,K.
Yes, I lived in Belleville.
Until July 16th, 1942.
Who was it?
Someone else
with the same name as me.
Processed by L.V.T. - Paris
Follow me, please.
Truly a dead city,
this is one of Europe's
largest Jewish cemeteries.
Before World War Two,
the Jewish community in Poland
numbered some 3.5 million.
Many were politicians,
economists, artists, scientists,
writers, historians, philanthropists...
TRACKS
Morning, Mrs. Goldstein!
Come on in! It's cold out.
- Sleep well?
- Yes! And you?
Who has the camera?
Milo! You weren't at breakfast.
What were you up to?
Morning, Rivka.
Sleep well?
No? Why not?
- I couldn't sleep.
- You'll soon feel better.
- Mind if I sit there?
- Not at all.
I need some peace.
Yesterday, the couple in front of me
kvetched all day long!
Sleep well?
I had heartburn all night.
You don't say.
You asked me.
Welcome aboard, everyone.
You didn't shave?
Again, please excuse my bad French.
We'll be driving west
through Warsaw,
and onward to Katowice.
It's under 5 hours'drive. Thank you.
This tunnel under the Vistula comes out
in the Prague quarter.
Above us
On your left,
the Palace of Art and Science,
built on Stalin's orders.
The roof garden on the 30th floor
Sorry, am I blocking
- May I?
- Sure.
This is Jean Paul II Avenue
with its mix of postwar
and modern architecture.
The ghetto, now gone,
ran east from here
to Bonifraterska Street,
where a wall cut it off
from the rest of the city.
The monument on your left
commemorates
who held off the German army
for 3 weeks in the spring of '43.
The inhabitants,
some 450,000, were deported
and exterminated at Treblinka.
You've been before?
No, never.
I pictured it differently.
Everything okay?
Mr. Zalcberg?
I'll be watching you today.
Look out!
Weren't you bothered? Out alone?
You saw that taxi driver
hanging around us?
You especially, Mrs. Zalcberg.
Didn't you see him?
Like I said,
keep your purse under your arm!
Especially abroad!
It's not our bags they're after.
You have a short memory!
Be quiet already!
What a nerve!
I'm not here to see Poles.
What Poles?
I don't see any.
It was a group decision, like always.
Next time, hitchhike to Auschwitz!
Couples!
I came on my own.
My wife and sons were against it.
They said it would be too hard
but I think they just don't care.
But their grandparents
died there, right?
This is my oldest, with his kids.
He's a professor. Stomatology.
Did you lose family
in the camps?
My parents and sister were deported.
- This is your first trip?
- Yes.
My granddaughter and her mother.
Cute, isn't she?
Look at those horrible buildings!
They killed all their Jews.
Massacred them.
You don't give a damn.
Not one Jew left.
- Living like rats.
- Dad!
Skip it. No Pole ever hurt me.
See what nice houses they have?
Had a quarrel with your wife?
I forgot her in the cemetery yesterday.
Okay, so?
How long do I have
to be punished?
Mr. Adler,
I had the same trouble with my wife.
That boy's her spitting image.
Try talking to him!
Like mother, like son.
We're slowing down.
Seem to be stopping.
What's the time?
Ladies and gentlemen,
a small technical problem.
We're making a short stop.
Don't worry,
the driver will fix it.
Looks like the radiator.
Where are we?
I've no idea.
I thought I heard a tire burst.
- Maybe it's the lunch stop.
- Already?
It's an air hose.
- What's up?
- One moment...
Has he never seen smoke?
Friends!
Quiet, please. Calm down.
Mr Buhl, our driver,
tells me we've broken down.
Keep calm.
He's going to call a repairman.
We're not far
Doctor! Doctor!
Sit down!
Let the doctor through.
She's coming round.
She's done this before.
It's her nerves.
I'm used to it.
The first ambush victim!
Need to stretch my legs.
You sulked all night already.
Everyone forgets things.
What's the problem?
Madam can't stay
with the group. No!
She wanders off.
Stop this endless brooding!
What am I doing here?
It was your idea, remember?
What?
You think I wanted to come?
You think I'm enjoying this?
Don't hush me!
Let me speak, please.
Stop. I don't feel well.
When do you feel well?
Rehashing the same old stories
all your life.
What good will it do you
You still don't understand.
What are you looking for?
Respect me, please.
What next?
I came with you. I'm here.
What more do you want from me?
Look where it's got us.
If you could see your face!
A sick woman.
Going out? It's freezing!
It's cold in here, too.
Okay, Batia?
Won't be long now.
Tell us the truth!
I'm very sorry about this.
The house has no phone.
How much longer?
Mr. Buhl has gone to find one.
Speak up!
Unfortunately, without the engine
there's no heating.
We're getting blankets
and trying to open that bar, there.
We can't sit here!
Don't worry, friends.
A bus is coming from Katowice.
We have our lunch trays.
Eat, don't worry.
We'll feel better
once we've eaten.
It'll be like...
Club Mediterranee!
...antisemites massacring each other.
It's history. It's true.
What's that to do
with elections in Israel?
You're asking me what Israel
has to do with history?
Do you know what we mean
to Israel, Mr. Milo?
- We?
- All of us! The diaspora.
What Israel expects from us?
I'm sorry to interrupt
but he's right.
What has this to do with Yugoslavia?
Excellent question!
Be smart. Learn from history.
What do you know of Israel?
The Hilton?
Hilton? What do you mean?
You don't eat cabbage?
Sorry. Some things make me angry.
Where were we?
Katowice is here.
About 2 hours' drive.
You live right in Tel Aviv?
In a suburb.
I have a lovely garden.
Do you ever miss Paris?
Sometimes, yes.
Yes.
I like remembering that.
Strangely, just before I joined this trip
By pure chance!
She recognized me.
It often happens.
My wife's cousin and her sister
were neighbors for 30 years,
unawares.
Ruthman's wife.
He worked on Rue Poissonniere.
I knew it well.
Near the Rex. A belt factory,
run by a burly guy,
What's the difference?
Leon Tordjman, Joe Schmo Tordjman...
My landlord in Paris
I'm eating!
They walked right past each other!
On the other hand,
when I sold neckties,
I knew people who traced relatives,
only to find total strangers
with exactly the same name!
A customer of mine
saw his own obituary in Le Figaro.
What upset him most?
The paper comes out, nobody calls!
Not one friend!
- If he's dead...
- Not even his son.
He says "You're Max Klein?"
I say "So what if I am?"
"I'm Nathan Wurman. Remember me?
How are you doing, old friend?"
I think "Wurman?
He insists, so we meet in a caf.
There, I see an old fellow
I don't recognize.
You know who it was?
We'd slept together,
worked together, seen it all together!
We were children.
Two little children.
From his wallet, he brings out
My parents!
I'd smuggled it into the camp.
Wurman found it near my blanket
- you know how we slept -
and he kept it.
I didn't even know he was alive.
He gave it back.
It was fantastic.
He asked if I got a German pension,
then we parted. Had a coffee,
I want him to know.
You have children?
No, unfortunately.
I'm here for my wife.
- Not eating, Dad?
- Not hungry.
- Heartburn?
- No, I'm not hungry.
Are you in trouble?
Yes, big trouble.
Cracked radiator.
Definitely.
Look! Spare seats!
We could get a ride.
No, I'm staying here.
Why? They have empty seats.
I came with the group,
I stay with the group.
They're lucky.
- Not too cold?
- No, it feels good!
What did I tell you? Snow!
So there were 71 of us.
Two of us had pistols.
A friend and I.
The rest were untrained.
They weren't soldiers.
I'd been in the army...
It won't last. It'll melt.
Henri!
Come on!
A lulav. For Sukkoth prayers.
It was a beautiful country, nonetheless.
Come on! All aboard!
Something wrong?
Your asthma?
I knew we shouldn't have come.
What's the point?
You'll never understand.
You're at it again?
You push me to the limit,
time and time again.
Me?
I want no more to do with you.
You made me unhappy.
You always were unhappy.
All your life, always moaning!
Living with ghosts!
While I do what? Listen?
Do you ever think about me?
What I put up with?
You're self-obsessed.
Here we go!
I'm sick of you,
sick of living with you.
I'm going to stay
in Paris with my cousin.
No way I'm going back
to Tel Aviv with you!
Maybe this isn't the right time...
You disgust me.
Your breath disgusts me.
You never loved me.
Now it's my turn.
I don't love you anymore.
What are you saying?
Enough.
- Go away.
- Where to?
Sit down.
Behave.
Don't worry.
Everything will fall back into line.
It's too late...
to change anything now.
Was any family not afflicted?
All were afflicted.
Those sons of bitches
and their minions in Europe
who helped to destroy us!
Curse them forever!
I forgot my name was Samuel Grinbaum.
I was a number!
"126-751! Do this!"
What were we?
Nothing!
They wanted my birth certificate!
From Poland!
I don't know where I was born.
Or even when!
Friends, friends! Quiet please.
Let me thank you all
for being here this afternoon
to watch this film
Please come again
- I mean the season! -
on the absorption
You know how much our Club
I see some of you are already asleep!
So I'll end on a lighter note.
Ladies and gentlemen...
Jo Bernstein!
Hi, honey.
I'm fine.
I just got back.
From the Club.
They showed the film.
How's the baby?
Tonight? Get going, then.
Yes, speaking.
Landsman.
Just one N.
Before that?
Why?
Graneck. C,K.
A sister? Yes.
But who are you, Monsieur?
What?
Who do you want to talk to?
Yes, in Paris. Belleville.
Until 1942.
How do you know all this?
Where are you now?
Vilnius?
I was waiting for you to call.
Listen.
I've been thinking all night.
Are you sure about this?
You can't be. My father's dead.
You're mistaken.
With my mother and sister.
You realize what you're saying?
What a commotion!
You know,
I never thought I'd be back here.
I have the letter.
You want to see the letter?
I can't read Yiddish.
You can't?
Did your parents
teach you nothing?
You know,
I didn't recognize you at first.
I didn't know what to think.
You have an old dad!
It's been so long.
You were just a little child!
Aren't you hot in your coat?
All the Germans had left the camp
but people still died every day.
We started walking.
After, maybe, ten days
we were only 60 miles
from the Russian border
and there I stopped.
I couldn't take another step.
No strength.
I couldn't go on.
Good. That's better.
And there I stayed.
I fell sick.
They sent me to a hospital in Danzig.
I stayed there
four, five months, maybe six.
I remember nothing about it.
Not one memory of the hospital.
A mental blank.
Danzig became Polish,
Poland became Soviet
and I, as an ex-Lithuanian citizen,
was sent back to Vilnius.
And there I stayed.
I wasn't allowed to leave.
I found nothing there.
Nothing. Nobody.
No poppa, no momma... nobody.
Nobody.
I couldn't even remember
where I was born!
That's the story.
Nothing we can do about it.
Grandma said you went to Israel
and we'd join you there.
What could I do?
I was 7. A child.
After I met my husband,
I asked around.
Clubs, friends...
I even wrote to America.
In '56
I heard you'd all been rounded up
and deported together
to Auschwitz in late July.
I have the convoy number.
But it's not true!
Your mother and I,
right after the roundup,
lost each other.
As soon as we arrived, we got split up.
The same day!
I can sleep on the couch.
I first came to Paris on February 12th.
That I remember.
Memory, memory, that's my problem.
In Paris...
the early days were hard.
I worked very hard.
We finally got papers
and lived as well as we could.
We scraped by.
When did you meet Mom?
We met at a wedding party.
She spoke no French.
Good looking, too.
That makes you laugh?
You can't imagine me
being good looking?
A present for you.
I hope you like it.
It's only a small thing.
Very pretty!
The Grands Boulevards!
And these?
Pictures of my second wife.
My wife, again.
She was beautiful.
You smoke too much.
It's nothing new.
Aren't you cold?
I'll turn up the heating.
Good looking kid!
How old is he again?
He was four last month.
Four.
The oldest girl is 10.
They live in Strasbourg.
You'll see them next Sunday.
When Dora heard you were coming
she wanted to jump on a train!
Your daughter looks incredibly like you.
That's not Dora.
It's Michele, Raymond's niece.
Michele?
This wasn't addressed to you.
I know. Go on.
The sender's address is on it, here.
I'm not interested in that.
How are you doing?
He's riddled with cancer.
"Three women born Graneck
in Paris.
Hard to find out their first names.
One of them never married.
She was buried in Paris
under her maiden name."
Is that a 7?
Looks like it.
So she died in '78.
"Another one married,
became Mrs. Landsman.
Still living in Paris."
That's you?
Yes.
"There's a record of a third.
She became Mrs. Adler
in 1959."
And then?
"Suggest you look beyond Paris.
Maybe in Israel."
Thank you.
Such bad handwriting!
You're tracing your family?
You know how cold it is
back home right now?
We couldn't sit outside like this.
We'd catch pneumonia
just by yawning!
I need to change some money.
Can I ask you something?
Do you have commitments
back in Vilnius?
Commitments?
I told you, I'm alone.
Dad?
Do you remember our house?
Our house?
The address where we lived.
Do you remember it?
When they rounded you up,
do you remember
what you said to me?
To make sure that I would run away?
What are you after, sweetie?
What do you want me to say?
You're wrong!
Wrong all along.
What are you saying?
I'll help you search.
Meanwhile you can stay here.
I can fend for myself.
Why go?
Unpack your bag.
Only 95/60.
I have no more gall bladder.
Breathe in.
Thank you.
Asthma in the family?
I don't know.
Is it a chill? He coughs.
Could be both.
Can I get dressed?
Go ahead.
A full week of antibiotics.
We need tests.
Watch his breathing.
His name?
Can you use mine?
Landsman.
We're okay.
No, he's asleep.
Yes, he's fine.
I'll give him your love.
Is Jonas better?
Wrap up the kids!
We'll see you on Sunday, right?
I sound odd?
Don't be silly.
I told you, he's having a nap.
See you Sunday.
- She starts high school next year.
- Big girl!
Wine, Mr. Graneck?
Yes, please.
And two carrots!
Your grandma's a great cook!
Like it?
The boy's not eating?
You like kneidlers?
Pass your plate.
Okay, sweetie?
Eat up, then.
You should meet my mother.
Best broth I've had in years!
Have a drop more.
I'll eat while it's hot.
Come, Jonas. Broth is good.
Come on now, Jonas.
Do I hear the baby?
Anything missing?
Don't you want to be the horse?
You're a caballero in that hat!
Jonas! Don't, dear.
You'll hurt Grandpa.
- Tell him, Dora.
- Jonas, don't!
Here, dear. Have some cake.
I'm okay.
Was I a good horse?
Doing okay?
Your attention, please!
Welcome to Israel.
For immigration,
please prepare your passports, photos
and the forms
you filled out on the plane.
The State of Israel
is happy to welcome you.
On behalf of Israel,
welcome home!
Once you've received the money,
proceed down the hall...
Once you've completed the formalities
you'll be given an Israeli passport
written in Hebrew.
Then you'll reclaim your baggage.
Lewin family to the desk, please.
Come along, Daniel.
Vera, come too.
Are you one family?
- No, but she's with us.
- Please wait your turn.
- We're together.
- By family only.
Are you okay?
Welcome. This way.
Stay together.
Welcome.
Vera, I've managed to get us all
in the same room.
Give me your bags.
Vera!
- Any luck?
- Still no answer.
Sit down, have a bite. It's good.
He won't eat a thing.
Are you sure the address is correct?
I'm not sure.
It's so long since I had any news.
Ben Gurion Street...
Number 5, Apt. 40.
Ramat...
Ramat Gan.
Problem?
Vera,
are you sorry you came with us?
Of course not.
Try this Israeli cabbage.
Unknown in Moscow.
- It's Israeli?
- Yes. Good?
I've been meaning to tell you.
I may have ajob.
Down south. Near the desert.
There's construction work there.
They need labor.
Desert's beautiful.
Strong!
Down south?
You're leaving Tel Aviv?
Come with us.
But I have my...
You won't bother us.
I have my cousin here.
I have to see her.
After that...
After that I don't know.
Felix, come here a minute.
What are you telling her?
I can't go on living like this.
- I can't stand it!
- We already discussed this.
Shut up!
This heat!
The room next-door
has airconditioning.
The Promised Land!
It's no problem.
Things will work out.
I'm going out.
That way?
Do you speak Yiddish?
I speak a little French.
Did Mrs. Grunstein
A home?
One moment, please.
I have her address, here.
It's right across town.
I have to go to Tel Aviv?
- Is it far?
- On the south side.
Best thing, take a cab.
I have to go to Tel Aviv?
Do you speak Yiddish?
Don't you speak Yiddish?
That way?
Over there?
What's this?
Give me that.
You speak no Yiddish?
None at all?
Do you speak Russian?
Enough!
How much?
I didn't recognize you.
What a surprise...
It's been so long.
That's how it goes.
Let me look at you.
I wrote you letters...
- I didn't get them.
...no reply.
You're the same girl.
I recognize you!
Where were you all this time?
Vera, this is my boyfriend.
We met here.
Lubartow.
See? It's fate.
So we speak the same language.
Yiddish.
You look very happy here.
The food's good,
I have a nice room,
my friends come around
and we share all our thoughts.
We have good doctors,
good nurses.
They have everything they need.
They're very well equipped.
Here, we don't bother anybody.
Tell me, have you heard from Hannah?
Hannah?
She died last year, in May.
And you left everything in Moscow
to come here!
I'm Israeli now.
Fancy that!
So where's your husband?
Husband?
What are you talking about, Mina?
Do you speak Yiddish?
Yes, of course.
I'm trying to get
to my hotel in Richon.
Richon is the other way.
You're heading in the wrong direction.
I get off at the next stop.
Come with me. I'll show you.
You must cross the road
and take the Richon bus
or you'll wind up
at the bus station. Okay?
It's going to rain.
The air is heavy.
See? You only have to cross the road.
What's the matter? Are you okay?
It's the heat. It's so hot.
This is beautiful.
Come on in.
I'll get that.
Make yourself at home.
Have a nice cool drink.
This heat!
It's cooler indoors.
I thought people in Israel
spoke Yiddish.
It's getting rare.
It's spoken less and less.
I had no idea.
See how useful it is?
It seems there are no more Jews
in Israel, only Israelis!
I can't take this heat.
Are you from Russia?
Yes, near Moscow.
It's ages since I spoke Yiddish.
Not since my husband died.
It goes to show, you never forget.
Drink up.
- Nice and cool.
- Feeling better?
Yes, I'm better.
I just saw my cousin.
First time in 28 years!
Is this your first time in Israel?
I've come to live here.
You'll laugh, but I followed
my next-door neighbors.
Neighbors?
To immigrate,
and asked if I wanted to come.
I had nothing to lose.
I have a crazy streak
so here I am, and that's it.
An old Jewish woman.
How can I lose?
How brave!
That's my cousin,
when she still lived in Paris.
It's an old picture.
You lived in Paris?
Before the war,
I had a big family there.
Parents, cousins, sisters...
a big family.
Now they're all gone.
- Big family?
- Nobody now.
You have nobody back in Russia?
Do you mind if I stretch out my leg?
Make yourself comfortable.
My right leg.
It aches a little.
I didn't picture Israel like this.
The way my husband
used to talk about it...
Still, I'm glad to see the sea again.
I'm planning...
to visit the Negev Desert.
They say the desert's very strong.
The storm...
Rivka, look here!
Why ever can't you close
the window when it rains?
This rug is ruined!
- You want tea?
- Of course.
Yes, it is.
Rivka! For you, from Paris.
Graneck.
C,K.
Yes, I lived in Belleville.
Until July 16th, 1942.
Who was it?
Someone else
with the same name as me.
Processed by L.V.T. - Paris