Set in the forties. A young Jewish boy is called on by his parents to help a young girl come out of her shell, imposed after she watched her father die at the hands of the Nazis.Set in the forties. A young Jewish boy is called on by his parents to help a young girl come out of her shell, imposed after she watched her father die at the hands of the Nazis.Set in the forties. A young Jewish boy is called on by his parents to help a young girl come out of her shell, imposed after she watched her father die at the hands of the Nazis.
- Awards
- 1 win & 1 nomination
Blake A. Edwards
- Tommy Frankel
- (as Blake Edwards)
- Director
- Writers
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Storyline
Did you know
- GoofsAfter admitting to his parents that he was playing stickball instead of visiting Naomi on the fourth day, Alan throws himself face-up on the couch and puts a newspaper over his face while his shirttails, which are not tucked in, fall back revealing his stomach (at 0:33:39 on the Feature Films for Families version and again at 0:34:25). As his father comes to the couch Alan's shirttails are neatly arranged, covering his stomach and belt (at 0:34:36).
- Alternate versionsIn 2003 Feature Films for Families released an edited version of 'Alan & Naomi' on both VHS tape and DVD with a 92m:01s run time (despite "approx. 87 minutes" on the DVD case). A 28 second Feature Films for Families logo clip was added at the beginning as was a 5 second "CINAR Presents" screen, replacing the original "LEUCADIA FILM CORPORATION AND THE MALTESE COMPANIES Present" screen. Nothing was cut from the ending credits, but a 5 second CINAR logo clip and a 13 second Feature Films for Families screen were added after the original ending credits for a total of 51 seconds of video added, leaving 91m 10s of the original 95m 31s length. In general, Feature Films for Families edits out of the sound track and/or the frames any language, violence, or behavior that parents might find awkward to explain to their young children.
Featured review
Riviting Performances.
This is a film about a Jewish teenager (Haas) who has no idea what his Jewishness means and meets a Jewish girl who knows nothing else.
The plot of the film allows us to watch him learn how Alan controls his temper and becomes a man while dealing with very serious problems as he slowly draws her into the world they live in.
Anyone who has dealt with mental illness knows that progress is not linear. Many backward steps are taken for every one that moves forward. In that the film is slightly deceptive: it leads us to believe that his treatment of her was like solving a geometry problem: each part contributes to the whole. If the part does not fit don't use it.
Movies are only two hours long. Choices have to be made. David and Lisa is probably better if one seeks accuracy. The choice here was character.
Alan grew. He learned how to give all he could to someone else. He was not thinking of his reward: he was thinking of her. As much as anything, his early failures brought about that development.
For such a young actress, Vanessa Zaoui had a wide range of emotions to deal with and she does it well. She went from compulsion (paper tearing) to transference (talking through her doll) random intense fear but timid acceptance of the outside world, to catatonia. At each step Alan, her unselfish teacher and leader, knows instinctively what to do simply by loving her as he would a much younger handicapped sister. He slowly learns how to sensitively communicate the very essence of himself.
I would not call this an entertaining film, but it is a very good study of two young teens who teach each other much.
The plot of the film allows us to watch him learn how Alan controls his temper and becomes a man while dealing with very serious problems as he slowly draws her into the world they live in.
Anyone who has dealt with mental illness knows that progress is not linear. Many backward steps are taken for every one that moves forward. In that the film is slightly deceptive: it leads us to believe that his treatment of her was like solving a geometry problem: each part contributes to the whole. If the part does not fit don't use it.
Movies are only two hours long. Choices have to be made. David and Lisa is probably better if one seeks accuracy. The choice here was character.
Alan grew. He learned how to give all he could to someone else. He was not thinking of his reward: he was thinking of her. As much as anything, his early failures brought about that development.
For such a young actress, Vanessa Zaoui had a wide range of emotions to deal with and she does it well. She went from compulsion (paper tearing) to transference (talking through her doll) random intense fear but timid acceptance of the outside world, to catatonia. At each step Alan, her unselfish teacher and leader, knows instinctively what to do simply by loving her as he would a much younger handicapped sister. He slowly learns how to sensitively communicate the very essence of himself.
I would not call this an entertaining film, but it is a very good study of two young teens who teach each other much.
helpful•90
- jeromec-2
- Apr 5, 2006
Details
Box office
- Gross US & Canada
- $259,311
- Runtime1 hour 36 minutes
- Sound mix
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