Film: Live And Become
Release date: 19th April 2010
Certificate: 12
Running time: 143 mins
Director: Radu Mihaileanu
Starring: Mosche Abebe, Sirak M Sabahat, Yael Abecassis, Roschdy Zem
Genre: Drama
Studio: Bluebell
Format: DVD
Country: France/Israel
Winner of the Most Popular International Film award at the Vancouver International Film Festival, Radu Mihaileanu’s Live And Become opened to rave reviews in France. A profoundly moving tale of love, the film charters the life of the central character Shlomo (Moshe Agazai, Moshe Abebe, and Sirak M. Sabahat) a young boy who at the beginning of the film lives with his mother in a Sudanese refugee camp.
During the famine of 1984 Shlomo and his mother are desperate to escape. African Jews know as ‘Falasha’ are being transported to Israel under a scheme known as operation Moses. As Christians, they are excluded from salvation.
When one of the Jewish women’s sons dies, Schlomos’ mother persuades the woman to take Schlomo with her. Posing as his mother, she will take him with her to Israel, ensuring his future and survival. By pretending to be another woman’s’ Jewish son, Schlomo will have a better chance at life than he would have had in the camps.
His mother’s last words to Schlomo before he leaves her are; “Go, live and become.” These parting words have a lasting impact on Schlomo, but due to their ambiguous nature, he is unsure how to fulfil his mother’s wishes. As he grows older, he begins to question more and more their obscure meaning of these words - where should he go? And what exactly should he become?
When Schlomo arrives in Israel, he suffers another loss when the Jewish woman who was looking after him unexpectedly falls fatally ill. On her deathbed, she makes Schlomo swear that he must never reveal his Christian parentage for fear of being deported.
Schlomo is subsequently taken in and cared for by a liberal Israeli family, who treat him as one of their own, but as he settles in to this new life, Shlomo feels increasingly guilty about the lie he has to live with, and the mother who he left behind.
Despite the safety and comparative luxury of his new surroundings, Shlomo continues to feel out of place in his new home with his white family. Outside of his home, he experiences a great amount of racial hostility from Israelis, making him more withdrawn and increasingly isolated. All that sustains him is his dream of returning home, finding his mother, and finding out how to live and become…
The film follows the three stages of Schlomo’s life; from a young boy of 9 to his subsequent adolescent years, and his maturity to manhood. Each stage is played beautifully by three different actors who bring consistent portrayals to the character in the different stages of his life. The young Shlomo played by Moshe Agazai gives an especially riveting and natural performance.
Though it is a film that spans great distances from Ethiopia to Israel and France, the film never for a moment distances the audience from the very personal story of a boy in search of his mother, and creates a great balance of an epic background with a unique emotional story at the very centre.
The film deals with such themes as race, religion, identity, love, conflict, and prejudice, yet with clarity and fairness. No character is irredeemable; they are merely flawed or ignorant, which makes them much better-rounded as characters - and much more realistic.
Though the film poses more questions than it answers, this is one of its many strengths, as none of the conflicts the film is set against is easily solvable. Mihaileanu presents each character and viewpoint objectively, never allowing politics or religion to negatively affect their portal.
The film’s general way of tackling subjects presents all the different conflicts that are central to this film (such as Israel’s continued war with Palestine) in a very non-judgmental way - it doesn’t delve very deeply into the root causes of the conflict but rather uses them as a backdrop behind the everyday conflicts that the characters are playing out.
This film works because of its ability to tackle the challenge and adversity of everyday experiences. Although the issues Schlomo overcomes are personally unique to him they nonetheless encompasses very relatable experiences, such as questioning one’s own identity and faith, and, most importantly, the enduring power of love.
Live And Become is enjoyable and heartrending, with characters and subjects portrayed with a great deal of truth and sensitivity. Although the characters and plot are very specific to a certain time and place, this at no point hinders the viewers’ enjoyment. An incredibly bold and moving piece of filmmaking. CMA
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