Avalon /

Avalon (1990) is a feature film directed by Barry Levinson. It is a mostly autobiographical story of a family of Polish-Jewish immigrants to the United States who settle in Baltimore, Maryland, at the beginning of the 20th century. The movie follows the family as they grow, become more prosperous, and eventually own a large home appliance store. Avalon explores the themes of assimilation and how modernity has changed American family life. Although the Krichinsky family depicted is obviously Jewish, this is never made explicit in the film. For example, a TV is given as a "holiday" gift. Independence Day and Thanksgiving are depicted as significant moments in the film but no mention is made of religious holidays. One of the few references to Jewish tradition is at the end, where it is brought up that "we do not name people after the living." The grandmother's funeral is set in a Jewish cemetery with graves marked with a star of David. There is also a moment when Simka's wife tells their survival story in concentration camp speaking in Polish and the whole family listens but only Eve and Elizabeth do not understand the language. Levinson likes to place links between his films that are