Avalon (1990 film)

Avalon is a 1990 American drama film written and directed by Barry Levinson and starring Armin Mueller-Stahl, Elizabeth Perkins, Joan Plowright and Aidan Quinn. It is the third in Levinson's semi-autobiographical tetralogy of "Baltimore films" set in his hometown during the 1940s, 1950s, and 1960s: Diner (1982), Tin Men (1987), and Liberty Heights (1999). The film explores the themes of Jewish assimilation into American life, through several generations of a Polish immigrant family from the 1910s through the 1950s.

The film was released to critical acclaim, and was nominated for four Academy Awards and three Golden Globe Awards.

Plot
It is the late 1940s and early 1950s, and much has happened to the family of Polish Jewish immigrant Sam Krichinsky since he first arrived in America in 1914 and eventually settled in Baltimore.

Television is new. Neighborhoods are changing, with more and more families moving to the suburbs. Wallpaper has been Sam's profession, but his son Jules wants to try his hand at opening a large discount-appliance store with his cousin, Izzy, maybe even do their own commercials on TV.

Jules and his wife, Ann, still live with his parents, but Ann is quietly enduring the way that her opinionated mother-in-law Eva dominates the household. Ann is a modern woman who even learns to drive a car, although Eva refuses to ride with her and takes a streetcar instead.

The family contributes to a fund to bring more relatives to America. Slights, real or imagined, concern the family, as when Jules and Ann finally move to the suburbs, a long way for their relatives to travel. After arriving late and finding a Thanksgiving turkey has been carved without him, Uncle Gabriel is offended and storms out, beginning a feud with Sam.

Sam also cannot understand the methods his grandson Michael's teachers use in school, or why Jules and Izzy have changed their surnames to Kaye and Kirk as they launch their business careers. But when various crises develop, including an armed holdup and a devastating fire, the family gets through the problems together.

Cast

 * Armin Mueller-Stahl as Sam Krichinsky
 * Michael Krauss as young Sam
 * Aidan Quinn as Jules Kaye
 * Kevin Blum as young Jules
 * Elizabeth Perkins as Ann Kaye
 * Joan Plowright as Eva Krichinsky
 * Dawne Hindle as young Eva
 * Leo Fuchs as Hymie Krichinsky
 * Bernard Hiller as young Bernard
 * Lou Jacobi as Gabriel Krichinsky
 * Michael Edelstein as young Gabriel
 * Eve Gordon as Dottie Kirk
 * Kevin Pollak as Izzy Kirk
 * Israel Rubinek as Nathan Krichinsky
 * Brian Shait as young Nathan
 * Elijah Wood as Michael Kaye
 * Tom Wood as Michael Kaye as adult
 * Grant Gelt as Teddy Kirk
 * Mindy Loren Isenstein as Mindy Kirk
 * Curtis Carnathan as Alexander Kaye
 * Shifra Lerer as Nellie Krichinsky
 * Christine Mosere	as young Nellie
 * Mina Bern as Alice Krichinsky
 * Anna Bergman as young Alice
 * Frania Rubinek as Faye Krichinsky
 * Mary Lechter as young Faye
 * Ronald Guttman as Simka
 * Herb Levinson as Rabbi Krauss

Relationship with other "Baltimore films"
Levinson frequently places links between his films that are set in Baltimore. For example, there is an image of a diner under construction, recalling the director's Diner, which also featured a Hudson automobile whose purchase figures in Avalon's plot. The house that the Krichinsky family leaves to move to the suburbs was used as a residence in Tin Men.

Release and reception
Tri-Star Pictures released Avalon on October 5, 1990, initially in six theaters before expanding the following week to 600. Levinson criticized how the studio underpromoted the film and expanded its release too soon, while studio president Michael Medavoy would later defend himself stating "Avalon wasn’t a wide-market movie, and we spent a lot of money to prove we could do it well. Putting it in a lot of theaters maximized the chance of making back our investment. Maybe we guessed wrong, but I don’t think anyone in the business could have squeezed another nickel out of it--or Bugsy, for that matter".

Avalon holds a rating of 86% on Rotten Tomatoes from 28 reviews, with an average rating of 7.3/10.

Soundtrack

 * Avalon (soundtrack)

Home Media
Avalon was released on DVD in 2001.