The History of Love

6 PM: Patio Reception, 6:30 PM: Speaker, 7 PM: Film

Director: Radu Milhaileanu; Written by: Radu Milhaileanu, Marcia Romano based on the novel by Nicole Krauss; Starring: Derek Jacobi, Eliiot Gould, Gemma Arterton Sophie Nelisse, Mark Rendall; Languages: English, Yiddish; 2016 (134 min) NR

“Be it dip-pen on paper writing in Yiddish from Minsk in the 1940s or sheets of paper in a manual typewriter in NYC in 2006 or a Spanish-language volume from Chile being translated via computer, the importance of fashioning and transmitting words runs through the story with a brand of cinematic heft no text message is likely to equal.”  —LISA NESSELSON, Screen Daily

Based on American Author Nicole Krauss’ bestseller, “The History of Love” is a sprawling saga of undaunted ardor and merciless twists of fate. Spanning decades and continents the film’s central narrative begins in Pre-war Poland and follows Leo Gursky and Alma Mereminski, neighbors and sweethearts, whose romance is thwarted by the rise of fascism. Before the war Alma is sent to America; after the war Leo tries to find her, oblivious to the surprises that await him. Aided by a brilliant cast that includes Gemma Arterton and veteran actors Derek Jacobi and Elliot Gould, director Radu Mihaileanu deftly weaves the many threads of Krauss’ novel into a soaring epic that touches on the duties of Jewishness, literature, and love. 

Guest Speaker Carole Renard, NEH Oral History Project Coordinator, Wexler Oral History Project
Carole currently works in the Yiddish Book Center’s Wexler Oral History Project where, in addition to interviewing community members and scholars about Yiddish history and culture, she works on transcribing and indexing the extensive collection of over 800 interviews to make them more accessible to the public. She has her BA in Anthropology and Jewish Studies from Smith College and her MA in Jewish Studies from University College London, where she wrote her thesis on Jewish involvement in the British suffrage movement.

Carole holds an MA in Jewish Studies from University College London and a BA in Anthropology and Jewish Studies from Smith College.