I found this French / Israeli / Belgian / Italian film in the book 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die, I read a short description before watching it, and it did sound like something worthwhile of that recommendation. Basically set in 1980 in Ethiopa the black Falashas have Christian beliefs and live in poverty, and every so on transports come into the community and take away people away to Israel, and a young boy, who is renamed Schlomo (Moshe Agazai) is sent by his Mother (Meskie Shibru-Sivan Hadar) to get on it, told to "Go, live, and become". Eventually the boy is adopted into a good family, who have no knowledge he has replaced am Ehtiopian Jewish boy who died, from the beginning he is forced to endure racism and learn the Jewish religion, he remains depressed for some time, until he is able to send a letter to his real mother. Schlomo as a teenager (Moshe Abebe) seems to have become accustomed to the adoptive family, but he still struggles with the Jewish ways, and he finds himself falling in love with Sara (Roni Hadar), but her father is an extreme racist, he tries to gain "real Jewishness" competing in a Bible interpretation competition, but this makes no difference to the father's attitude. Disappointed he decides to himself into the police explaining that he is a Falasha and not Jewish, but he is ignored and his adoptive parents send him to study medicine in France, it is there that he and Sara get married, her family are taken from her, but in the circumstances Schlomo will not reveal his true identity until she becomes pregnant. Sara does find out his true origins, she leaves him not for his deception but for believing that she would not have trusted or loved him anyway, but the adoptive mother helps them reconcile, but Schlomo is given a condition by Sara, he must meet his real mother again, as a doctor he does find the way to return to Ethiopa fugitive camp, in the end Schlomo and his mother do have an emotional reunion. Also starring Yaël Abecassis as Yael Harrari, Roschdy Zem as Yoram Harrari, Sirak M. Sabahat as Schlomo as an adult and Yitzhak Edgar as Qès Amara. I have seen these kind of films before, someone bing forced to go against their beliefs to fit into a new society or family, the racial tension and religion clashes do add to what could have been a predictable story, and the inclusion of hard hitting moments of human poverty is also moving, it is certainly a worthwhile drama film. Good!
Review of Live and Become
