Roadside Attractions
I honestly cannot recall when I first saw the movie Fiddler on the Roof, which came out in 1971, a bit before my time. I do vaguely recall watching a lower school production of the show when I was in second grade or so, with one guy I cannot remember the name of (Sheldon?) who was a killer Tevye. I also had a piano book of the musical (selected pieces), so I learned how to play and sing along to quite a few songs. But I’ve since seen the movie multiple times, and it’s still a funny, tragic, poignant tale that connects today.
Fiddler: A Miracle of Miracles is a documentary from director Max Lewkowicz and written by him and Valerie Thomas. The movie tells the story of how the musical came to be in the first place, how it fared at first, and the cultural impact it made worldwide. Now, I may love the movie and play, but that doesn’t mean I’m an easy mark — just the contrary. But the documentary does a great job of spreading the wealth, and telling the full story up until the recent full Yiddish revival.
In the 1950s, a play was released off-Broadway based on the author Sholem Aleichem’s short story about Tevye and his daughters. Even earlier than that in 1919, an all-Yiddish play adapted from the story came out, and even a barely known film in the 1930s. But it was that 1950s version that caught the spark that eventually became the 1964 musical hit.
The documentary intersperses its talking heads with old footage and new; the movie is liberally used, of course, with many shots too of more recent productions. Not much film exists of the original run of the musical, but some audio clips still remain. The talking heads include various people (still living), associated with the play in different ways. Much of the play talks about the history of the musical itself, so we hear from various producers and lyricist Sheldon Harnick, as they talk about the trials and tribulations getting the play off the ground — which was actually critically dismissed when it came out.
Later we see some of the production of the movie, with a few words from some of the actors, including even the star of the movie Topol — still has that accent by the way. And everything comes around to an astonishing array of ways the musical has affected people around the world from all walks of life, including fully translated and recent productions in Japan and even Thailand.
It’s heartening to see how these themes, so connective to me growing up, also are resonant with people around the world. The film understands the genius its discussing, and although it doesn’t shy away from a few controversies here and there, it’s mostly a fully positive portrayal of Fiddler.
The movie even spends some time to show off some of the famous fans of the show and more recent performers who love it, and honestly, none of them should be even remotely surprising. Seeing those clips of the play helps tie it all together.
Now, some people aren’t fans of documentaries — in general I tend to agree with them. But this one is well paced, edited, and shot, with a narrative flow that’ll pull you in and keep you interested until the very end, maybe even past the credits if you’re willing to sit through them. It’s hard to say what documentaries will catch awards fancy, because they often are sad, miserable ones, but I suppose you never know. For me, this one’s a front runner for 2019.
Fiddler: A Miracle of Miracles has a run time of 1 hour 32 minutes and is rated PG-13 for some thematic elements/disturbing images.
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