Last Jews of Radauti (Song of Radauti)

1978 (25 min., B&W)

A film by Laurence Salzmann

Have you ever wondered what Shtetl life was really like? What were the daily realities, the good times and bad, of those market towns of Eastern Europe from whence so many of our grandparents came? In Laurence Salzmann’s film study of Jews in a small Rumanian town, we meet the members of this dwindling community, including the rabbi and shokhet (ritual slaughterer). We experience intimate expressions of Jewish life— preparation for the Sabbath, making chalah and immersion in the mikveh (ritual bath). Salzmann’s cinematic eye captures expressive faces animated by a vibrant life force.