Katherine A Montana

I loved everything about this film. It reminded me so much of my family. We weren’t Jewish, but my paternal grandfather came here from Sicily in 1913; my grandmother came here in 1916. They had 2 children prior to leaving Sicily. My aunt died while she, my uncle and my grandmother were still in Sicily. My uncle came here with my grandmother; once my grandparents were together again, they had 5 more children, 2 girls and 3 boys. But the similarities between the family in Avalon and my dad’s family in the 1950’s and 1960’s are amazing. The closeness of the siblings, their obvious love for their children; their respect for their patriarch; the traditions. And of course, the disagreements, which could be quite loud and sometimes quite long-lasting. And the holidays…..the long tables set up for dinner, often extending through the dining room and into the living room. There was usually a small table for the younger cousins. Catching up with the cousins; the delicious food…such wonderful memories. But the film was sad. I loved it, but it brought back memories of people no longer here, and such strong feelings of nostalgia. The entire cast does a spectacular job. But I was most impressed by Armin Mueller-Stahl; Aiden Quinn; Elijah Wood, Elizabeth Perkins. As I said, it was perfectly cast. I can’t say enough about Barry Levinson, who wrote and directed Avalon. It was very clear that he based it on his own life; and how well he recreated his memories. The line that I love and will never forget was spoken by Sam Krichinsky, played brilliantly by Armin Mueller-Stahl: “If I knew things would no longer be here, I would have tried to have remembered better." It is a heartbreaking line, probably because it’s so true.