''Every Time We Say Goodbye'' is a 1986 American
drama film
In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular super ...
starring
Tom Hanks
Thomas Jeffrey Hanks (born July 9, 1956) is an American actor and filmmaker. Known for both his comedic and dramatic roles, he is one of the most popular and recognizable film stars worldwide, and is regarded as an American cultural icon. Ha ...
and
Cristina Marsillach. Hanks plays a
gentile
Gentile () is a word that usually means "someone who is not a Jew". Other groups that claim Israelite heritage, notably Mormons, sometimes use the term ''gentile'' to describe outsiders. More rarely, the term is generally used as a synonym fo ...
American in the
Royal Air Force
The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) an ...
, stationed in
mandatory
Mandate most often refers to:
* League of Nations mandates, quasi-colonial territories established under Article 22 of the Covenant of the League of Nations, 28 June 1919
* Mandate (politics), the power granted by an electorate
Mandate may also r ...
Jerusalem
Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...
, who falls in love with a girl from a
Sephardic Jewish family.
The film has the unusual distinction of being partly in the
Ladino language. With young lovers of very different backgrounds with religious/cultural differences, the film is an account of a forbidden love.
["Overview: 'Every Time We Say Goodbye' (1986)."](_blank)
''IMDb''. Retrieved: March 9, 2017.
Plot
Lt. David Bradley (
Tom Hanks
Thomas Jeffrey Hanks (born July 9, 1956) is an American actor and filmmaker. Known for both his comedic and dramatic roles, he is one of the most popular and recognizable film stars worldwide, and is regarded as an American cultural icon. Ha ...
) is an American pilot who joins the
Royal Air Force
The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) an ...
(RAF) before the
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., federal district, five ma ...
enters
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...
. After his
North American P-51 Mustang
The North American Aviation P-51 Mustang is an American long-range, single-seat fighter and fighter-bomber used during World War II and the Korean War, among other conflicts. The Mustang was designed in April 1940 by a team headed by James ...
is shot down in
North Africa
North Africa, or Northern Africa is a region encompassing the northern portion of the African continent. There is no singularly accepted scope for the region, and it is sometimes defined as stretching from the Atlantic shores of Mauritania in t ...
, he recovers from a leg injury in Jerusalem.
During his recovery, David meets Sarah Perrara (
Cristina Marsillach), a serene girl of
Spanish Jewish descent. The two young people are attracted to each other but she is convinced that their diverse backgrounds mean it could never work. Her family's disapproval and the fact that he is a gentile son of a
Protestant
Protestantism is a Christian denomination, branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Reformation, Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century agai ...
minister, stand in their way.
Although they keep running into each other in the small community, they find themselves parting as frequently as they find each other.
Cast
*
Tom Hanks
Thomas Jeffrey Hanks (born July 9, 1956) is an American actor and filmmaker. Known for both his comedic and dramatic roles, he is one of the most popular and recognizable film stars worldwide, and is regarded as an American cultural icon. Ha ...
as David Bradley
*
Cristina Marsillach as Sarah Perrara
*
Benedict Taylor
Benedict Sean Taylor (born 18 April 1960) is a British actor.
Taylor was born in Hampstead, London, the eldest of six children of father, Richard, a documentary film maker, and Allegra, a writer. Taylor lived in Nigeria until 1965 and then wa ...
as Peter Ross
*
Anat Atzmon
Anat Atzmon ( he, ענת עצמון, born 27 November 1958) is an Israeli actress and singer.
Biography
Atzmon was born and raised in Tel Aviv. She is the daughter of the theater actor Shmulik Atzmon. In her childhood her father exposed her to ...
as Victoria Sasson
*
Gila Almagor
Gila Almagor Agmon ( he, גילה אלמגור אגמון; born Gila Alexandrowitz; July 22, 1939) is an Israeli actress, film star, and author. In Israel, she is known as "queen of the Israeli cinema and theatre".
Biography
Gila Alexandrowitz ( ...
as Lea
*
Monny Moshonov as Nessim (credited as Monny Moshonov)
* Avner Hiskyahu as Raphael (credited as Avner Hiskyahu)
* Esther Parnass as Rosa
*
Orna Porat
Orna Porat ( he, אורנה פורת; June 6, 1924 – August 6, 2015) was a German-born Israeli theater actress.
Life and career
She was born Irene Klein in Cologne, Germany, in 1924. Her father, Willi, was Catholic, and her mother, Elise, Pr ...
as Mrs. Finkelstein
* Nissim Azikri as Shaltiel (credited as Nissim Azikry)
*
Moshe Ivgy
Moshe Ivgy ( he, משה איבגי; born 29 November 1953) is an Israeli actor and director.
Biography
Moshe Ivgy was born in Casablanca, Morocco, to a Moroccan Jewish family. He was married to actress Irit Sheleg. Their daughter Dana Ivgy i ...
as Daniel (credited as Moshe Ivgi)
* Orit Weisman as Mathilda
* David Menachem as Elie
* Avi Keidar as Sammy
*
Alon Aboutboul
Alon Moni Abutbul (or Aboutboul, he, אלון מוני אבוטבול; born 28 May 1965) is an Israeli actor. He won the IFFI Best Actor Award (Male) at the 44th International Film Festival of India.
Early life
Abutbul was born in Kiryat Ata, ...
as Joseph (credited as Alan Abovtboul)
* Dafna Armoni as Clara (credited as Daphne Armony)
Production
After his breakout role in ''
Splash'' (1984), Tom Hanks signed on to star in ''Every Time We Say Goodbye''. The drama was a departure from his earlier comedic television and screen roles. Hanks was also ready to devote time to establishing a more serious catalog, but in contrast to the
Hollywood
Hollywood usually refers to:
* Hollywood, Los Angeles, a neighborhood in California
* Hollywood, a metonym for the cinema of the United States
Hollywood may also refer to:
Places United States
* Hollywood District (disambiguation)
* Hollywoo ...
films he had worked on, considered ''Every Time We Say Goodbye'' at $3.7 million, a "low budget" production. Much of the film was shot on location in
Israel
Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...
, including in the
King David Hotel
The King David Hotel ( he, מלון המלך דוד, Malon ha-Melekh David; ar, فندق الملك داود) is a 5-star hotel in Jerusalem and a member of The Leading Hotels of the World. Opened in 1931, the hotel was built with locally qua ...
, Jerusalem.
Reception
At the time, ''Every Time We Say Goodbye'' was considered to be the most expensive Israeli film ($3.7 million), however, the film was a major
box office bomb
A box-office bomb, or box-office disaster, is a film that is unprofitable or considered highly unsuccessful during its theatrical run. Although any film for which the production, marketing, and distribution costs combined exceed the revenue after ...
, with worldwide gross of only $278,623. To this day, according to ''Box Office Mojo'', it remains the lowest grossing theatrically released film starring Hanks. Reviews of the film were lukewarm at best, and the film had a limited release in theaters.
["Film: 'Every Time We Say Goodbye'."](_blank)
''TV Tropes''. Retrieved: March 9, 2017.
Film critic
Janet Maslin
Janet R. Maslin (born August 12, 1949) is an American journalist, best known as a film and literary critic for ''The New York Times''. She served as a ''Times'' film critic from 1977 to 1999 and as a book critic from 2000 to 2015. In 2000 Maslin ...
of ''
The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
'' gave the film a negative review, saying "Tom Hanks is utterly out of place in the Israeli romance 'Every Time We Say Goodbye' for at least two reasons: because there's something so innately comic about him, even in solemn surroundings, and because he has so much more energy than the film does."
References
Notes
Citations
Bibliography
* Gardner, David. ''Tom Hanks: The Unauthorized Biography''. London: Blake, 1999. .
* Pfeiffer, Lee and Michael D. Lewis. ''The Films of Tom Hanks''. New York: Citadel Press, 1996. .
External links
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{{authority control
1986 drama films
Judaeo-Spanish-language films
1986 films
Films directed by Moshé Mizrahi
Films scored by Philippe Sarde
American aviation films
Films about shot-down aviators
Films set in Israel
Films set in Jerusalem
Films shot in Israel
TriStar Pictures films
American drama films
1980s English-language films
1980s American films
1986 multilingual films
American multilingual films