ELI ELI / (B&W)

Esther Field and Lazar Freed portray elderly Jewish parents whose children have all but forgotten them. It is a theme used again and again in the Yiddish theatre, but here retold with nuance and artistry. Eli Eli is one of several American Yiddish-language films recently rescued from obscurity and restored for archival and videotape revival. Even those unfamiliar with Yiddish will be able to relate to the plight of the characters and the pathos of the situation. In this respect, the English subtitles seem almost superfluous.