Synopsis
A Polish-Jewish family comes to the U.S. at the beginning of the twentieth century. There, the family and their children try to make themselves a better future in the so-called promised land.
Your Movie Library
Cast
- Leo FuchsHymie Krichinsky
- Eve GordonDottie Krik
- Lou JacobiGabriel Krichynsky
- Armin Mueller-StahlSam Krichinsky
- Elizabeth PerkinsAnn Kaye
- Joan PlowrightEva Krichinsky
- Kevin PollakIzzy Kirke
- Aidan QuinnJules Kaye
- Israel RubinekNathan Krichinsky
- Elijah WoodMichael Kaye
Recommendations
- 100
Chicago Tribune
This is a movie that redefines the concept of a family picture. Families should see it together because there will be plenty to talk about regardless of how new your crowd is to this country. [19 Oct 1990, p.C] - 88
RogerEbert.com
Avalon is often a warm and funny film, but it is also a sad one, and the final sequence is heartbreaking. It shows the way in which our modern families, torn loose of their roots, have left old people alone and lonely--warehoused in retirement homes. The story of the movie is the story of how the warmth and closeness of an extended family is replaced by alienation and isolation. - 88
Washington Post
With Avalon, Levinson reaches into his deepest self, and an artist can't be asked to do much more. - 80
Empire
Sentimentality creeps in now and again, but Levinson's steady grasp of his city's unique atmosphere makes these moments genuinely moving rather than hokey. - 70
Washington Post
Where Avalon works, as with Diner and Tin Men, is where it's improvisory, comic and most artistically humble. - 70
The New York Times
A generous and touching film that is essentially smaller than its own sweeping ambitions, a crowded and skillfully drawn landscape from which no oversize figures emerge. Affection and memory are the forces that give Avalon its vibrancy, but they are also its limitations. - 67
Christian Science Monitor
The movie is more striking to watch than to hear, more interesting as a tone poem than as a drama. In the end, it's a half-successful film on a subject that could have been all fascinating. - 60
Rolling Stone
Levinson wants nothing less than to capture the hope and despair of the American dream through the saga of one family — his family. It’s a grand ambition. But the film, though exquisitely crafted, lacks the political, spiritual and sociological depth to realize it. What Avalon does offer are rich period details, abundant scenes of humor and heartbreak and outstanding performances.
