Description

A poignant and sometimes harrowing story about a group of teenagers living in a youth village for orphans who survived the Nazi concentration camps of the 1950s. ... Read more

Reviews (2)

A classic israeli film
This is the next chapter in Gila Almagor's coming-of-age autobiography, begun in her film, THE SUMMER OF AVIYA. UNDER THE DOMIM TREE (or crab apple tree) continues the story five years later, in the mid-1950s, in Israel. Aviya, now 15, lives in a youth village for war orphans and teenagers from troubled homes, where she and her new friends stand in as family for one another. Aviya searches for clues to the identity of her deceased father, endures the unpredictability of her emotionally unstable mother, Henya (played by Gila Almagor herself) and is pursued by Polish-born fellow teenager, Jurek, who desperately tries to win her heart. By day Aviya and her friends laugh, play and study like other teens; by night memories of their unspeakable losses return. They find refuge together under the domim (crabapple) tree, where the story finds its surprising and exhilarating climax. Filmed in a Zionism-realism style.

A magnificent and beautiful film--a must see
This is a beautiful and moving film about the orphan children who survive the Holocaust and are sent on aliyah to Israel where they live together in a kibbutz. You will be moved to tears by this grippingly touching film which chronicles the lives of these wonderful children who have suffered so much. ... Read more

Reviews (11)

Like finding a Diamond
I am the son of Holocaust survivors and remember seeing this movie in the theater with my father. Later, I returned see it with an Armenian businessman friend of mine, a man who had lived in Africa and Europe. All three of us thought it was great. I could not remember the title and have been wanting to buy it for the last 2 years, until I found the name today at a Jewish film website and ordered it on Amazon about 15 minutes ago.

This movie was as if someone took all the conflicting arguments in my head and soul, ripped them out, and put them on the Big Screen for all the world to see.

Yes, as one reviewer said, it is a bit overblown, pedantic, but..the people portrayed were small town/city Europeans living in a sheltered Yeshiva (Jewish religious school) world until the wider world shocked their existance and social order with great force in 1939.

I don't think the characters could have been portrayed much more accurately. False beards ? Maybe, but not false emotions.

Wonderful!
The Quarrel, taking place in the late 40's, is the story of two Jewish Holocaust survivors who have both lost their entire family during it. For one of them, the experience bolstered his faith in God until it was all that he had, while in the other it killed whatever faith in God he had had left. The second man, Chaim, is now a writer who has come to Montreal to publicize his book, when he bumps into the other, Hersh, who he believed dead in the Holocaust. Hersh is now the head of the local Jewish community and Yeshiva. This film is about an afternoon spent together between them and their quarrel over their friendship and faith.

I believe that this movie was originally either a short story or a play, and it was probably better as such, because it doesn't make the big screen too well. It is too slowly paced and is basically one big discussion with little background music (though what's there is quite good).

However, its points are still remarkably relevant to Jews in todays world over fifty years later. We watched this in my Bible class, and it left our teacher crying. I definitely recommend this film to everyone, but especially those who lost family or faith in the Holocaust and to Jews wondering about their faith.

Even if you only watch it once, go out and rent or buy The Quarrel

A beautiful portrait of tension between Orthodox vs. Secular
I watched this movie and immediately fell in love with it. It's a true piece of art, and it addresses the tension between the secular and the orthodox worlds with incredibly beautiful feelings and poetry. A lovely masterpiece that cannot be missed by anyone who is interested in this theme, regardless of what your personal belief and/or affiliation are. I strongly recommend that you watch it if that's a theme that is genuinely interesting to you.

Riveting simply riveting
My family (wife and 15yr. old girl) were glued from start to finish. The story weaves it's path over and under many threads of life using the motif of secular/orthodox tension such as guilt/forgiveness, reason (as basis for good)/or God and His Words, youthful zeal/aged wisdom (remember the brash orthodox student?), self rigteousness/self sufficiency etc. A nice balance of gripping emotion as well as deep profoundness of thought.
Even though I was not a holocaust survivor I could relate to some degree with this movie as my best friend growing up was Jewish. He went on as good Jewish boys do and became a Geriatric Physician albeit liberal; and I an all out hedonistic pagan eventually distanced myself from him during the turbulent '60's. Since then I became a Christian and quite devout, so I couldn't help but picture the two of us in a similar reunion as I was watching The Quarrel.

Didn't Connect
I have to admit, this movie didn't move me as much as I thought it would from all the hype. There were really two problems that I can put my finger on. 1) I found I just could not connect with the main characters. Whether this was due to slightly wooden performances, extremely fake looking beards, a failing in the script or a combination of all three I can't say. 2) The script was overly verbose at times, and I found my attention waning. This movie is probably better rented than purchased, as I can see wanting to see it once but doubt many people would want to sit through it again and again. ... Read more

Description

A chance reunion of two Holocost survivors - one a Hasidic Jew, the other a skeptical journalist who has turned his back on religion - leads to a searing probe of good and evil and an ultimate test of faith and redemption. ... Read more

Reviews (11)

Like finding a Diamond
I am the son of Holocaust survivors and remember seeing this movie in the theater with my father. Later, I returned see it with an Armenian businessman friend of mine, a man who had lived in Africa and Europe. All three of us thought it was great. I could not remember the title and have been wanting to buy it for the last 2 years, until I found the name today at a Jewish film website and ordered it on Amazon about 15 minutes ago.

This movie was as if someone took all the conflicting arguments in my head and soul, ripped them out, and put them on the Big Screen for all the world to see.

Yes, as one reviewer said, it is a bit overblown, pedantic, but..the people portrayed were small town/city Europeans living in a sheltered Yeshiva (Jewish religious school) world until the wider world shocked their existance and social order with great force in 1939.

I don't think the characters could have been portrayed much more accurately. False beards ? Maybe, but not false emotions.

Wonderful!
The Quarrel, taking place in the late 40's, is the story of two Jewish Holocaust survivors who have both lost their entire family during it. For one of them, the experience bolstered his faith in God until it was all that he had, while in the other it killed whatever faith in God he had had left. The second man, Chaim, is now a writer who has come to Montreal to publicize his book, when he bumps into the other, Hersh, who he believed dead in the Holocaust. Hersh is now the head of the local Jewish community and Yeshiva. This film is about an afternoon spent together between them and their quarrel over their friendship and faith.

I believe that this movie was originally either a short story or a play, and it was probably better as such, because it doesn't make the big screen too well. It is too slowly paced and is basically one big discussion with little background music (though what's there is quite good).

However, its points are still remarkably relevant to Jews in todays world over fifty years later. We watched this in my Bible class, and it left our teacher crying. I definitely recommend this film to everyone, but especially those who lost family or faith in the Holocaust and to Jews wondering about their faith.

Even if you only watch it once, go out and rent or buy The Quarrel

A beautiful portrait of tension between Orthodox vs. Secular
I watched this movie and immediately fell in love with it. It's a true piece of art, and it addresses the tension between the secular and the orthodox worlds with incredibly beautiful feelings and poetry. A lovely masterpiece that cannot be missed by anyone who is interested in this theme, regardless of what your personal belief and/or affiliation are. I strongly recommend that you watch it if that's a theme that is genuinely interesting to you.

Riveting simply riveting
My family (wife and 15yr. old girl) were glued from start to finish. The story weaves it's path over and under many threads of life using the motif of secular/orthodox tension such as guilt/forgiveness, reason (as basis for good)/or God and His Words, youthful zeal/aged wisdom (remember the brash orthodox student?), self rigteousness/self sufficiency etc. A nice balance of gripping emotion as well as deep profoundness of thought.
Even though I was not a holocaust survivor I could relate to some degree with this movie as my best friend growing up was Jewish. He went on as good Jewish boys do and became a Geriatric Physician albeit liberal; and I an all out hedonistic pagan eventually distanced myself from him during the turbulent '60's. Since then I became a Christian and quite devout, so I couldn't help but picture the two of us in a similar reunion as I was watching The Quarrel.

Didn't Connect
I have to admit, this movie didn't move me as much as I thought it would from all the hype. There were really two problems that I can put my finger on. 1) I found I just could not connect with the main characters. Whether this was due to slightly wooden performances, extremely fake looking beards, a failing in the script or a combination of all three I can't say. 2) The script was overly verbose at times, and I found my attention waning. This movie is probably better rented than purchased, as I can see wanting to see it once but doubt many people would want to sit through it again and again. ... Read more