Synopsis

Lelia, a young woman from Bucharest, finds herself in a dreadful situation: As a Jewish woman at the beginning of the 20th century she falls in love with a Christian man named Matei. Her grandfather Manasse, who lives in the shtetl – and even her parents who live a rather secular life in the city are resolutely against the relationship. Leila bends under the pressure and leaves the man she loves and agrees to marry a Jew. As her wedding day approaches, she decides to take a very drastic step in an entirely different direction. Jean Mihail’s powerful, highly-dramatic and visually breath-taking silent film classic is based on a theatre play, long banned from the Romanian stage due to its sensitive topic. Given the anti-Jewish atmosphere, taking over Romania in the first half of the 20th century, Manasse is also a brave masterpiece. It deals with the tensions between cultural conformity and separatism that the Jewish community suffered at the peak of the modern age. Deep dividing lines were evident between both old and new generations, and rural and urban areas. Rooting for progress, this film can also be interpreted as an early plea for religious tolerance.