Original title
Enemies: A Love Story
Genre
Drama
Rated R
Directed by
Paul Mazursky
Written by
Isaac Beshevis Singer (novel) &
Roger L. Simon (screenplay)
Country
USA 1989
Running time
ca. 119 min
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 Summary
Herman Broder is a man with secrets. A survivor of the Holocaust, Broder flees Europe for America and becomes a ghostwriter for a Jewish rabbi in New York City. With his first wife, Tamara, believed to have been killed by the Nazis, Herman marries the Polish peasant woman who had hidden him in her hayloft during the war.
He pretends to be a traveling book salesman, so that he can leave her for periods of time in order to be with his mistress, Masha, a Russian immigrant who is also a Holocaust survivor.
In addition to juggling his two women, Herman must also lie to his boss, pretending he is not married, since his wife, Yadwiga, is not a Jew.
Soon, Herman learns that Tamara was not killed in the war as believed, and finds that juggling the women in his life is a great deal more harrowing than anyone could have imagined when both Yadwiga and Masha become pregnant. Faced with a third marriage in the making, Herman gives up and turns to Tamara to "manage" his life.
However, he finds that living without Masha is harder than all the rest and goes back to her.
Predictably, the situation only continues to deteriorate as juggling the lies becomes impossible and his house of cards comes tumbling down around him.
Masha - Lena Olin
Masha is a passionate woman who battles her own demons after having been held prisoner in a concentration camp during the war. Although she appears to lead a functional life, we're given glimpses along the way that her mental stability is tenuous at best.
Trapped in marriage to a man who won't give her a divorce, Masha lives alone with her aging mother, and sees Herman whenever he can disentangle himself from his wife. Suspicious and jealous of his time, they argue often... just as passionately as they love one another.
As things with Herman spiral further and further out of control, so does Masha's ability to deal with the ups and downs of life, until she can no longer take it and ends her life.
Main Cast
Ron Silver
Anjelica Huston
Lena Olin
Margaret Sophie Stein
Alan King
Judith Malina
Phil Leeds
Paul Mazursky
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Herman Broder
Tamara Broder
Masha
Yadwiga
Rabbi Lembeck
Masha's Mother
Nathan Pesheles
Leon Tortshiner
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Memorable Quotes
Masha: If God could allow the Jews of Europe to be killed, what reason is there to believe He would prevent the extermination of Jews in America? God doesn't care. Right, Herman?
Herman: I don't know. Maybe suffering is an attribute of God.
Masha: How's your little peasant? Did you tell her you were on a bookselling trip again?
Herman: Tonight I am in Philadelphia.
Masha: And what happens when she finds out you're with us?
Herman: She will never find out.
Masha: There's always a possibility.
Herman: She will never separate us.
Masha: What sense is there in doing the dirty work for that swindler of a rabbi? At least become a rabbi... swindle in your own name.
Masha: I don't believe your peasant is really as cold as you say she is.
Herman: Then don't believe it.
Masha: What about your first wife?
Herman: Tamara is dead.
Masha: Suppose I were to die... commit suicide... how long would you remember me? How long would you wait before finding another? Just this once, be honest.
Herman: How long would you wait?
Masha: I would never have anyone again.
Herman: Is that the truth?
Masha: Yes, you devil. The whole truth.
Herman: Suppose there were no men left on the Earth. Would you do it with a woman?
Masha: Sure. Why not? (laughs)
Herman: You ever do it with a guard?
Masha: (quietly) Never. (pauses) Not that they weren't interested. Of course, there was this lieutenant at Dachau (pauses again) No. Never. Never, never.
Masha: RRRRROOOOOAAAAARRRRR!!!!!
Masha: (While on vacation in the Catskills) Where are the Nazis? What kind of world is this without Nazis? (laughs) A backward country, this America.
Masha: You miss her. You can hardly wait to go back with her again.
Herman: She's all alone. She's helpless.
Masha: What about me? This is my vacation. We're here one night, and you go running to the phone to call your peasant. You lie to her, and you lie to me. (rises angrily) I don't ever want to see you again. EVER!
Later...
Herman: (taking bottle out of her hand) This is not the way.
Masha: (laughing ironically) What is the way? Where was I five years ago this time? Still among the dead.
Masha: It's been 7 weeks since I've had my visitor. I'm never late.
Herman: You'll go see a doctor...
Masha: They can't tell so soon. I'll wait another week. An abortion in America cost $500, and it's dangerous too. A woman in the cafeteria got blood poisoning and that was the end of her. What an ugly way to die! What would my mother do if anything happened to me? For sure you'd let her starve.
Herman: Masha, don't get melodramatic. We don't even know if you're pregnant yet.
Later that night...
Masha: Herman, I'm afraid of an operation. Herman, perhaps Leon will divorce me. I'll speak frankly to him. If he won't divorce me, the child will bear his name.
Herman: I can't divorce Yadwiga.
Masha: You can't? When the king of England wanted to marry the woman he loved, he gave up his throne, and you can't get rid of a stupid peasant.
Masha: Herman, once and for all, how many wives do you have? How many? Three?
Herman: I have to go. Bathroom. Where's the bathroom?
Masha: (following after him and pounding on the door) Herman! This is the last time I'm going to talk to you, and I want to tell you... you're the worst fraud I've known in my life! If you hear that I'm dead, don't come to my funeral.
Herman: How's your mother?
Masha: I have no mother. And I have no money for a funeral.
Masha: Herman, you once promised me we would die together. Remember? Don't you remember? In September... Labor Day. When we were in the Catskills?
Herman: Oh... yes.
Masha: Why don't we do it? I have enough sleeping pills for both of us. I have them in my bag. All we need is a glass of water.
Herman: That we have. That's the one thing they didn't steal.
Herman: Masha?
Masha: Yes, Herman?
Herman: Before we die, I would like to know the truth.
Masha: About what?
Herman: Have you been faithful to me since we've been together?
Masha: (laughs) Have you been faithful to me? If you tell the truth, I will too.
Herman: I will tell the truth.
Masha: Wait. I need a cigarette. (pauses to light one) Let's hear it.
Herman: Once... with Tamara. That's all.
Masha: (laughs)
Herman: What's so funny?
Masha: What you did with your wife, I did with my husband.
Background Info
IMDb Movie Info
Washington Post Article
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The Lena Olin Forum
Enemies: A Love Story
