An affectionate portrait of a people. Its seriocomic tone and interweaving of humor, passion, and unspoken but inevitable tragedy recall the short stories of Isaac Bashevis Singer as well as the fanciful, dreamlike paintings of Marc Chagall. The portrait of the townspeople is rooted in the tradition of Yiddish humor. The humor is broad, earthy and touching. A small gem.
Life is indeed beautiful.
A lively, enjoyable and rambunctious comic fairy tale that suggests a Marc Chagall painting invaded by the Marx brothers. A good, hearty comedy and a tribute to the vanished rural traditions of European Jewry. It does make us laugh and dance. Radu Mihaileanu gets into more traditional Jewish humor through characters. Brilliantly absurd, residing somewhere between Shalom Alcheim and Monty Python.