Va, Vis et Deviens (Live and Become) (Go, See, and Become) (2005)

86% of critics liked it
(35 reviews)
93% of users liked it
(4,972 ratings)

Cultural confusion and the lack of true identity plague a young boy swept away from his mother during a joint American-Israeli rescue mission in director Radu Mihaileanu's fact-based drama. As thousands of displaced Africans crowd into Sudanese refugee camps, American and Israeli troops organize… More Cultural confusion and the lack of true identity plague a young boy swept away from his mother during a joint American-Israeli rescue mission in director Radu Mihaileanu's fact-based drama. As thousands of displaced Africans crowd into Sudanese refugee camps, American and Israeli troops organize "Operation Moses," a mission aimed at relocating the wandering Falashas to Israel. Forced by his Christian mother to declare himself Jewish in hopes of joining the exile and escaping a grim fate, young Solomon (Moshe Agazai) is swept away to Israel and adopted by a Tel Aviv-dwelling French Sephardic family and re-named Schlomo. Terrified of being revealed and shaken to the core by the radically different culture of Israel, Schlomo does his best to adapt to his new surroundings as his presumed salvation slowly gives way to the inner decay of a fading identity. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

Rating, Runtime: Unrated, 2 hr. 33 min.
Directed By: Radu Mihaileanu
Written By: Radu Mihaileanu, Alain-Michel Blanc
Genres: Art House & International, Drama

In Theaters: Feb 11, 2005 Wide
On DVD: Apr 7, 2009
Studio: Menemsha

Critic Reviews

Robert Abele, Los Angeles Times
The bounty of incident is balanced by knowing humor, compelling characters and a dedicated compassion toward those for whom the search for home sends their head, heart and feet flying in all directions.
Lisa Schwarzbaum, Entertainment Weekly
With the secret 1985 airlift of thousands of Ethiopian Jewish refugees into Israel as a historical starting point, writer-director Radu Mihaileanu turns one fictional boy's story into a loaded, didactic drama about survival, adaptation, and identity.
Andrew Sarris, New York Observer
A stirring and uplifting tale of racial and religious assimilation.
Stephen Holden, New York Times
Fundamental issues of ethnic and religious identity and the agony of exile are at the heart of Live and Become.
Jack Mathews, New York Daily News
Both a love story and inspirational tale of an individual finding peace with himself in a hostile environment.
Abigail Deutsch, Village Voice
If the film sometimes feels overwrought -- and at once too long and too short -- its subtle motifs and loud silences, as well as the enormity of its subject matter, keep us absorbed until the devastating end.
Emanuel Levy, EmanuelLevy.Com
The message of this stirring feature is relevant, going beyond its particular political context
Sarah Boslaugh, Playback:stl
...Live and Become uses the story of an Ethiopian Christian boy airlifted to Israel ... to examine questions of national and racial identity in modern Israel.
Kam Williams, NewsBlaze
Brother from another temple.
Nora Lee Mandel, Film-Forward.com
Sentimental on immigration and assimilation, but intriguingly reflects Israeli diversity, and touching for a guy to survive and flourish thanks to the love of 4 feisty women.
Sarah Boslaugh, Playback:stl
If Live and Become told only the story of Schlomo's childhood and adolescence in Israel, it would have been a better movie.
Bob Strauss, Los Angeles Daily News
This movie, so dramatic and different from any other we've seen about Israel, may well have worked with three other actors. But it's hard to imagine it working as well.
Ed Scheid, Boxoffice Magazine
Writer/director Radu Mihaileanu (Train of Life), an emigrant from Romania, has made a film that is fascinating on different levels....builds to an unforgettable final image.
Andy Klein, Los Angeles CityBeat
At nearly two and a half hours, Radu Mihaileanu's film is unnecessarily long; a few incidents could have easily been cut. But it's still worth the time. It manages to be, at points, heartwarming, tragic, and funny.
Tom Keogh, Seattle Times
Don't be put off by the film's length. It's fascinating to see familiar history flash by as a backdrop to the equally compelling account of a life spent in pursuit of totality.
Bill White, Seattle Post-Intelligencer
The first part of Radu Mihaileanu's tale of an Ethiopian refugee's life in Israel promises more than the often trivial soap opera that follows.
Cole Smithey, ColeSmithey.com
This overlong story of a Ethiopian boy's experiences attempting to pass himself off as Jewish in order to enter Israel, gets bogged down with a meandering script that fails to gain momentum.
Frank Lovece, Film Journal International
Earnest and overlong, the result is a meandering short story of a movie that, for all its good intentions and occasional insights, doesn't gel.
Jordan Hiller, Bangitout.com
The beauty of Live and Become is found essentially in one very specific place - the relationship between Solomon and his mothers.

Read all 19 critic reviews

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Featured Audience Ratings

Cynthia S

This movie is about a period in history of which I was unaware. Ethiopians claiming to be Jews were taken in by Israel, but not with the approval of all the Israelis, leading to bitterness, dissension, and overt hostility. This is a very moving story about one young man's journey… More
This movie is about a period in history of which I was unaware. Ethiopians claiming to be Jews were taken in by Israel, but not with the approval of all the Israelis, leading to bitterness, dissension, and overt hostility. This is a very moving story about one young man's journey to "Live and Become" -- an Ethiopian Christian forced by his mother to take the identity of a Jewish boy who died, so he can be rescued from their refugee camp in the Sudan, and be resettled in Israel. A rather long movie, but very well done. The final scene is one that I will probably remember forever. Kudos!
Walter M

"Live and Become" starts in the 1980's as Ethiopian Jews are allowed to immigrate to Israel but first must complete a hazardous trek to Sudan, and many die along the way. Hana(Mimi Abonesh Kebede) survives to make it to a refugee camp, host to a mixture of religions,… More
"Live and Become" starts in the 1980's as Ethiopian Jews are allowed to immigrate to Israel but first must complete a hazardous trek to Sudan, and many die along the way. Hana(Mimi Abonesh Kebede) survives to make it to a refugee camp, host to a mixture of religions, but her son does not. Wanting her son to live and thrive elsewhere, a Christian mother(Meskie Shibru Sivan) passes her son off as Jewish, giving him to Hana to take with her to Israel, where he is now known as Schlomo(Moshe Agazai). He is again abandoned in Israel when Hana succumbs to sickness. So, he acts out in school, even making a futile attempt to walk back to his home country and mother. In order to provide him stability, the authorities allow him to be adopted by Yael(Yael Abecassis) and Yoram(Roschdy Zem), a kind leftist couple. "Live and Become" is an emotionally complex movie about identity that has a couple of false steps(literally) but otherwise smartly handles the material in epic style. And Israel, for better or for worse a country of immigrants and good intentions, is the perfect setting for such a thorough examination. Difficult as it is for immigrants to adjust to their new country, it does not help when there is resistance from those already there who might see them as either strange or invaders, not liking their skin color or language, even if they share the same religion.(Regardless, we are all the same.) Yael and Yoram handle this situation better than most, even if they may seem condescending at first, aiding Schlomo who is in a harder position than most. Their peaceful humanism contrasts with Israel's recent conflicted history.

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Va, Vis et Deviens (Live and Become) (Go, See, and Become) (2005)

Critic Reviews

Featured Audience Ratings

Cynthia S

Walter M

Cast

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