Jewish History in Film: Three is not company in this post-World War II movie, 'Enemies, A Love Story'

From the title onward, it is evident that director Paul Mazursky's "Enemies, A Love Story" is anything but your typical run of the mill love story. Ron Silver is magnificent as the tragic Herman Broder, a man who just so happens to wind up being married to three women at once. As one would expect, he isn't a very happy person. But how did we get to this, exactly?

When we are first introduced to him, we see he is a man living two lives. In one life, he lives in Brooklyn and is married to the young and naïve Yadwiga (played by Margaret Sophie Stein), who is simple-minded but completely in love with him. She was his gentile servant in the war who saved his life. Believing his former wife to be dead, he took Yadwiga's hand and moved across the sea. In this life, he is a traveling book salesman. In the other life, he isn't a book salesman at all but a ghost writer for Rabbi Lembeck and has taken a mistress by the name of Masha (played by Lena Olin). 

A Holocaust survivor herself, Masha has become at odds toward God and her Jewish identity, something to which the restless Herman can relate. No longer affiliated with the older man she married after immigrating to the United States, she longs for both she and Herman to divorce their spouses and marry. But Herman cannot make up his mind and consistently puts off the idea. As we will eventually learn, Herman's indecisiveness will ultimately be his downfall.

Yadwiga reminds Herman of his former life, which occasionally keeps him grounded, but her devotion to him is unmoving. She worships the very ground he walks on and he is unable to feel fulfillment toward her. Masha is chaotic, and her eyes and mind are on the present - life is mischievous and exciting with her. 

The complications further expand after Herman answers an ad in the newspaper and, lo and behold, his first wife, Tamara (played by the stellar Anjelica Huston), stands before him, alive. Herman is in disbelief, there were eyewitnesses who said they saw her die. Tamara quickly accepts the fact that he moved on, but knows Herman more than he knows himself. As soon as she hears about Yadwiga, she asks about the inevitable mistress. Soon enough, Tamara becomes the only figure that has a grasp on his situation, and the only voice of reason that he at least semi-listens to. In one rather humorous exchange, she says to him, "In America, they have a thing called a manager. That is what you need. I will be your manager because you are incapable of making decisions for yourself." This statement couldn't be closer to the truth.

When Masha breaks the news to Herman that she has become pregnant, the two marry in secret. And thus, he winds up having three wives.

The movie is based on the novel of the same name by Isaac Bashevis Singer, who was inspired by similar stories of Holocaust survivors starting over in New York City. The foreword of the novel states, "The characters are not only Nazi victims, but victims of their own personalities and fates." 

Herman does not have much hope for the future of his life. He has been delivered from death, and suffered far less than many people. He is, in many ways, a lucky man. Love is not the force leading him on this journey, but the deep guilt and responsibility he feels toward each of these women. Love is the enemy because love is responsibility and commitment, which he does not possess. 

This film is as impressive as it is dated and incredibly frustrating. The right answer to all of his problems is right in front of him - pointed out to him by Tamara on a number of occasions. But Herman does not listen nor does he provide himself with a plan (or plans) he is 100 percent on board with. The hole grows deeper, with no resolution in sight, until, inevitably, it ends in tragedy. Sure, there is humor to the absurdity of this character, but ultimately this film does not end with the massive gag one would expect from such an outrageous love story. This film, ultimately, is about broken people who will try anything to find meaning and healing, but truly do not know where to go from here. 

Thanks to a pitch-perfect cast and a maddening script, "Enemies, A Love Story" provides for us a unique film about life post-World War II.

Zachary Aborizk is an independent filmmaker, writer, and teacher based out of Orlando, Fla. His work has appeared in such publications as Adelaide Magazine in New York as well as the Tampa Bay Underground Film Festival.