Two Sisters (Tsvey Shvester) DVD

"The dual reading that Two Sisters demands mirrors the mindset of its original audience. Eager to assimilate into American society (or more exactly, for their children to be assimilated), yet conscious of their own connection to a dying traditionalism, the Yiddish audience for the movie were part of [Irving] Howe's `transitional generation,' stoically postponing gratification for the sake of their offspring. By presenting the psychic stresses of assimilation as an optimistic tragedy (or a grotesque comedy), Two Sisters acknowledged the situation of this transitional generation with a directness that precludes escapism."
-J. Hoberman, Bridge of Light: Yiddish Film Between Two Worlds

USA, 1938, 82 minutes
B&W, Yiddish with new English subtitles
Directed by Ben K. Blake