Date watched: June 19, 2022
Date Reviewed: July 2, 2022
Review
June’s family movie day was back to my pick and continuing on my theme of musicals for the year, I chose Fiddler on the Roof. Which up until this point I hadn’t seen on either stage or screen. We also had to swap from our usual Friday night and instead moved to a Sunday afternoon as the film has a runtime of 3 hours.
Yet again I find myself asking why I waited so long to see it!
I didn’t know too much about the film going into it and like many in the same boat, the only song I knew was “If I Were A Rich Man”. Turns out there are a couple of other songs I knew but just didn’t know they came from this film.
This is a musical with a profound story behind it as well as great music. It’s emotional, it’s funny, and will hook you in from the very first song.
Set in pre-revolutionary Russia, Fiddler on the Roof follows the life of Tevye, a poor Jewish milkman with five daughters and a wife. They live in a small provincial village in a community of both Jews and Orthodox Christians under rule of the Czar. The film’s main focus is that of tradition and how to adapt to changing times and values, which is something Tevye struggles with throughout the film.
Topol portrays the lead role of Tevye and what a mighty performance he brings to the film. The character spends quite a bit of time talking either to us the audience (directly at the camera) or to God (eyesight off camera or to the sky) painting the picture of Jewish tradition and what it means to him. He is a playful character who does what he can to get by and has an open mind. After all, at the start he does say:
Tevye: How did this tradition get started? I’ll tell you!
[pause]
Tevye: I don’t know. But it’s a tradition… and because of our traditions… Every one of us knows who he is and what God expects him to do.
The three adult daughters Tzeitel, Hodel, and Chava as well as their mother Golde also all have strong performances by the women portraying them. Rosalind Harris, who plays Tzeitel gives a standout performance bringing so much emotion and strength to the role. She also has an uncanny resemblance to Barbra Streisand, you’d think they are related.
My favourite scene would have to be Tevye’s dream sequence. After agreeing to the matchmaker’s choice in husband for his first born daughter only to find out that she loves another boy (who is more to her age), he agrees to his daughter’s wish to give his approval for them to marry. The next step – getting his wife Golde to agree. Tevye comes up with this outlandish dream, actually nightmare, with the aim to make it seem as if it is Golde’s idea to break the matchmaker’s agreement. And it worked!
However my highlights are the amazing dance sequences including the “Bottle dance” at Tzeitel and Motel’s wedding and especially the Ukrainian traditional dancing in the song “Lechaim”. I used to be part of a Polish traditional dance group growing up and have a real love for not only eastern European dance but traditional dance in general. It’s beautiful to watch and the music is always great. I really love learning about different cultures from dance.
I could probably go on and on. Instead I’ll leave it here. It’s a classic for a reason and if like me you haven’t seen it yet, find a copy. It’ll make you laugh, cry, and gain a better appreciation of the tradition on show. There is just so much to like about it. I can’t wait to see what it is like on stage. I’ll definitely be keeping my eyes peeled next time a production is done.