Live and Become, a film by Romanian-born French director, Radu Mihaileanu, explores the Ethiopian immigrant experience in Israel. The film may read like an individual’s life story, but seems intended to serve as a collective representation of Ethiopian Jewry, through the eyes of a boy named Shlomo.
The audience watches as he is airlifted out of Ethiopia during Operation Moses, in 1985, then strives to assimilate in a foreign land, fights in the Israeli Army, and marries an Israeli woman. Albeit incomplete for many people who have limited knowledge on Beta Israel (Jews of Ethiopian origin) and their relationship with the State of Israel, the film is educational. It is fascinating because it not only describes the specific struggles Ethiopians undergo coming to Israel picturesquely, but also touches upon philosophical and political issues pandemic to the Jewish experience. The film not only beautifully describes the specific struggles Ethiopians undergo coming to Israel, but also touches upon philosophical and political issues endemic to the Jewish experience.
Mihaileanu depicts Shlomo’s archetypal immigrant moments in an atypical manner, questioning the romantic idea of airlifting Ethiopian Jews’ from what is depicted as a land of poverty and death to one of love and opportunity.
During his first shower in an Israel absorption center, Shlomo screams in anger and shuts off the water. The Israeli attendant must tell him, “Do not worry. Israel has enough water.” Mihaileanu interleaves similarly palpable experiences throughout the film. For a long time Shlomo sleeps on the floor instead of the comfortable bed his adopted family has provided him, yearning for familiarity amidst the newness of Israel. Shlomo takes off his shoes when he walks home from school, as he walked barefoot in his village in Ethiopia. And when first exposed to television, Shlomo sits behind the television to wait for characters to exit the screen.
Mihaileanu throws a twist into the mix; Shlomo was not born Jewish. This parallels historical occurrence, as there untold numbers of clandestine non-Jews have immigrated to Israel, and make upa small percentage of the Ethiopian community there.
This fact adds layers of complexity to the questions of Shlomo’s Jewish identity and the political tensions of the time. Viewers want Shlomo to fit into Israeli society, not be sent back to Ethiopia. Shlomo turns himself in, only to be told by an Israeli policeman that he should stay in Israel. Mihaileanu confronts this thorny political issue with sincerity and sensitivity. The film succeeds in maintaining the emotional investment of its audience as both a personal and historical account.
Live and Become was screened at the Gershman Y as part of the Philadelphia Jewish Film Festival. Mazi Melesa, an advocate for the Ethiopian Israeli community who works for the American Conference of Ethiopian Jewry spoke at the event. I was struck by how hastily Mazi declared her immigrant experience to be comparable to some of the depictions of Shlomo’s life on screen. The harsh reality of Ethiopian Jews’ segregation in Israel remains. They continue to be persecuted, and will always have to fight for the authenticity of their Jewishness. While I caution viewers that Live and Become may not be completely historically accurate or reflect the sentiments of all Falashas coming to Israel, I do believe the film is worthwhile. Live and Become is not only cinematically spectacular, but also inspires questions of Jewish identity and unity.
