Hester Street

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Hester Street

PG,

1976,

1h 30m,

Comedy/

Drama

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Watchlist

Watchlist

80%

30 Reviews

Tomatometer

67%

500+ Ratings

Popcornmeter

80%

Tomatometer

30 Reviews

67%

Popcornmeter

500+ Ratings

Dealing with themes of assimilation, this film, set in the early 1900s, focuses on the experiences of an immigrant family in New York City. Gitl has just arrived in America from Russia with her son. She has come to meet her husband, Jake, who has been in the States for some time and is comfortably settled. While Gitl struggles to find her place in this country, she clashes with Jake, who has fully embraced their new homeland.

Pauline Kael

The New Yorker

Oct 20, 2023

A small, ironic story told without much attempt at depth of characterization.

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Clayton Dillard

Slant Magazine

Apr 19, 2022

Joan Micklin Silvers Hester Street is a distinctly 70s-era mix of stylistic sparseness and thematic revisionism.

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Walter Goodman

New York Times

Dec 13, 2017

The story is well paced to hold one's interest...

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Brian Orndorf

Blu-ray.com

Mar 12, 2025

A-

Silver pulls off something of a miracle with "Hester Street," managing to capture a time and place without the benefit of a budget or major stars, putting her faith in the power of the conflicts provided here.

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Brandon Judell

Brandon Judell (Medium)

Feb 6, 2025

8/10

Has you asking, “What chance do centuries-old traditions have in the New World?” Discovering the winner is the delight of this beautifully textured recreation of a time when being an immigrant had its challenges, not like now. Oh, forgot about Guantanamo.

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Marya E. Gates

Cool People Have Feelings, Too. (Substack)

Aug 16, 2024

Gitl’s determination to hold on to her beliefs and to craft the most loving home she can for her son, no matter what the world around her pressures her to do, is the kind of strength we should all aspire towards.

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Rey G

Feb 28, 2017

Beautiful, seamless, emotionally authentic performances with such subtlety and honesty. Small, personal story with HUGE feminist-political agenda. Wonderfully directed. Such skill at recreating this period both visually and in performance.

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Joan Micklin Silver

Director

Steven Keats

Jake

Carol Kane

Gitl

Mel Howard

Bernstein

Dorrie Kavanaugh

Mamie

Doris Roberts

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Synopsis

Dealing with themes of assimilation, this film, set in the early 1900s, focuses on the experiences of an immigrant family in New York City. Gitl has just arrived in America from Russia with her son. She has come to meet her husband, Jake, who has been in the States for some time and is comfortably settled. While Gitl struggles to find her place in this country, she clashes with Jake, who has fully embraced their new homeland.

Director: Joan Micklin Silver
Producer: Raphael D. Silver
Screenwriter: Joan Micklin Silver, Abraham Cahan
Production Co: Midwest Films
Rating: PG
Genre: Comedy, Drama
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Aug 24, 1976, Original
Release Date (Streaming): Nov 21, 2019
Runtime: 1h 30m

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