The Light Ahead (Fishker der Krumer) – Film
Berney Theatre
$10 Members | $12 Non-Members

USA, 1939, 94 minutes, B&W
Yiddish with English subtitles
Produced & Directed by Edgar G. Ulmer

The Light Ahead is both a touching comedic drama and a poignant social commentary. It is one of the great films of the American Yiddish pre WWII Cinema. The film follows Fishke and Hodel, a young couple with disabilities, as they strive to escape the oppressive disease and poverty of their shtetl. They are aided by Mendele, a local bookseller who harnesses the town’s strong belief in superstition to work in their favor by brokering a black wedding to ward off the shtetl’s cholera epidemic. The film is directed by Edgar G. Ulmer, one of the most unique directors of Yiddish Cinema (who would go on to create the masterpiece of Film Noir Detour) and features a large ensemble cast from New York’s Yiddish Art Theatres.

“A gem radiating warmth and honesty.” – Jewish Weekly

Beverley and Opatoshu are perhaps the most beautiful couple in the history of Yiddish cinema, and their scenes have a touching erotic chemistry.” – J. Hoberman, Bridge of Light: Yiddish Film Between Two Worlds