''The Real Shlemiel'', also ''Aaron's Magic Village'' is a 1995

adventure An adventure is an exciting experience or undertaking that is typically bold, sometimes risky. Adventures may be activities with danger such as traveling, exploring, skydiving, mountain climbing, scuba diving, river rafting, or other extreme spo ...

fantasy film Fantasy films are films that belong to the fantasy genre with fantastic themes, usually Magic (paranormal), magic, supernatural events, mythology, folklore, or exotic fantasy worlds. The Film genre, genre is considered a form of speculative fic ...

. It was released in

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

in 1995 and in the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

in 1997. The film is based on ''Stories for Children'' by

Isaac Bashevis Singer Isaac Bashevis Singer (; 1903 – July 24, 1991) was a Poland, Polish-born Jews, Jewish novelist, short-story writer, memoirist, essayist, and translator in the United States. Some of his works were adapted for the theater. He wrote and publish ...

Plot

After creating the world, God has three cherubs spread intelligence, wisdom, and foolishness over the world. The third cherub accidentally drops all the foolishness on the village of Chelm, so that everyone in Chelm is very dumb. A recently orphaned boy named Aaron moves to Chelm to live with his uncle Shlemiel, while Darko, an evil sorcerer, plans to create a

golem A golem ( ; ) is an animated Anthropomorphism, anthropomorphic being in Jewish folklore, which is created entirely from inanimate matter, usually clay or mud. The most famous golem narrative involves Judah Loew ben Bezalel, the late 16th-century ...

to destroy Chelm, but needs the Book of Marvels to bring the golem to life. Shlemiel's family is poor so he asks the mayor, Gronam, for a raise. Gronam instead tells him to marry off his three daughters, which will make him rich, while Shlemiel's wife, Sarah, tells Aaron to sell his goat, Zlateh, who cannot make milk. Darko's fox listens in on Shlemiel's plan to marry off his daughters, so Darko poses as a female matchmaker and offers three nonexistent rich husbands to Shlemiel in exchange for the Book of Marvels. When Shlemiel refuses, Darko reveals his true identity and angrily causes a blizzard. While Aaron and Zlateh take shelter from the storm inside a haystack, an imp called the Lantuch is blown inside, hitting Aaron in the head and getting mild amnesia, causing him to forget his spells. When he tries to use a spell to find the biscuits Aaron lost, it instead gives Zlateh the ability to make milk, causing his family to keep her when he returns. Shlemiel informs Gronam that a sorcerer is after the Book of Marvels, and Gronam entrusts the Book to Shlemiel. Darko instructs his fox to spy on Shlemiel and inform him where he hides the Book of Marvels. Shlemiel hides it in the cupboard that Gronam originally took it from, and hides the key in his shoe. When Shlemiel falls asleep on his way to Warsaw to find husbands for his daughters, he points his shoes in the direction of Warsaw to remember which way to go when he wakes up. The fox steals the key from his shoe, and mischievously points the shoes back toward Chelm. After receiving the key, Darko steals the Book of Marvels. Falling for the fox's trick, Shlemiel goes back the way he came, and when he arrives back at Chelm, he thinks that it is a second version of the village. Everyone but Aaron believes this as well. Darko returns to his castle, brings the golem to life, and orders it to destroy Chelm. The golem destroys all the buildings in Chelm except the synagogue because it is sacred, much to the sorcerer's anger. Gronam says that if the golem lives past the

Sabbath In Abrahamic religions, the Sabbath () or Shabbat (from Hebrew ) is a day set aside for rest and worship. According to the Book of Exodus, the Sabbath is a day of rest on the seventh day, Ten Commandments, commanded by God to be kept as a Holid ...

, it will live forever, and the world will be destroyed. Because the way to kill a golem is written in the Book of Marvels, Aaron goes to Darko's castle with Zlateh and the Lantuch to find the Book. As Aaron reads the information he needs, confirming that what Gronam said was true, the Lantuch accidentally alerts Darko while casting a spell. Darko takes the Book of Marvels back, but Zlateh attacks him, causing the Book to fall into the fire. As Aaron, Zlateh, and the Lantuch escape the castle, Darko sends the golem after them, but the golem has a change of heart due to Aaron's courage and refuses to harm him, even protecting him from Darko's attack. The Lantuch is hit on the head by a rock, regains his memory, and turns Darko to stone. Though reluctant to kill the golem after his latest action, Aaron does so by erasing a symbol on his head to save the world. With Chelm destroyed, all its inhabitants leave to find new homes somewhere else, with Shlemiel and his family intending to go to "Chelm #1".

Notes

References

External links

* *
Review
largely negative, at Movie Magazine International {{DEFAULTSORT:Real Shlemiel 1990s French animated films Israeli animated films French animated feature films German animated feature films Hungarian animated films Films scored by Michel Legrand 1995 animated films 1995 films 1995 children's films 1990s English-language films 1990s German films 1990s German animated films 1990s children's animated films Wise Men of Chelm 1995 in German cinema Fictional goats