The Real Shlemiel (Aaron's Magic Village) | |
---|---|
Directed by | Albert Hanan Kaminski |
Written by |
|
Produced by |
|
Starring |
|
Narrated by | Fyvush Finkel |
Music by | Michel Legrand |
Production companies | Pannonia Film Studio TMO Film GmbH [1] ZDF [1] C2A [1] Les Films de L'Arlequin [1] Project Images Films [1] Videovox Studio [1] |
Distributed by | Beaufilm [1] |
Release dates |
|
Running time | 78 minutes |
Countries |
|
Language | English |
The Real Shlemiel, also Aaron's Magic Village [lower-alpha 1] is a 1995 French-German-Israeli-Hungarian adventure-fantasy film. It was released in Germany and in the United States in 1997. [2] The film is based on Stories for Children by Isaac Bashevis Singer. [3]
After creating the world, God has three cherubs spread intelligence, wisdom, and foolishness over the world. The third cherub accidentally drops all the foolishness on the village of Chelm, so that everyone in Chelm is very dumb.
A recently orphaned boy named Aaron moves to Chelm to live with his uncle Shlemiel, while Darko, an evil sorcerer, plans to create a golem to destroy Chelm, [lower-alpha 2] but needs the Book of Marvels [lower-alpha 3] to bring the golem to life.
Shlemiel's family is poor so he asks the mayor, Gronam, [lower-alpha 4] for a raise. Gronam instead tells him to marry off his three daughters, which will make him rich, while Shlemiel's wife, Sarah, tells Aaron to sell his goat, Zlateh, who cannot make milk. Darko's fox listens in on Shlemiel's plan to marry off his daughters, so Darko poses as a female matchmaker and offers three nonexistent rich husbands to Shlemiel in exchange for the Book of Marvels. When Shlemiel refuses, Darko reveals his true identity and angrily causes a blizzard.
While Aaron and Zlateh take shelter from the storm inside a haystack, an imp called the Lantuch is blown inside, hitting Aaron in the head and getting mild amnesia, causing him to forget his spells. When he tries to use a spell to find the biscuits Aaron lost, it instead gives Zlateh the ability to make milk, causing his family to keep her when he returns.
Shlemiel informs Gronam that a sorcerer is after the Book of Marvels, and Gronam entrusts the Book to Shlemiel. Darko instructs his fox to spy on Shlemiel and inform him where he hides the Book of Marvels. Shlemiel hides it in the cupboard that Gronam originally took it from, and hides the key in his shoe. When Shlemiel falls asleep on his way to Warsaw to find husbands for his daughters, he points his shoes in the direction of Warsaw to remember which way to go when he wakes up. The fox steals the key from his shoe, and mischievously points the shoes back toward Chelm. After receiving the key, Darko steals the Book of Marvels.
Falling for the fox's trick, Shlemiel goes back the way he came, and when he arrives back at Chelm, he thinks that it is a second version of the village. Everyone but Aaron believes this as well. Darko returns to his castle, brings the golem to life, and orders it to destroy Chelm. The golem destroys all the buildings in Chelm except the synagogue because it is sacred, much to the sorcerer's anger.
Gronam says that if the golem lives past the Sabbath, it will live forever, and the world will be destroyed. Because the way to kill a golem is written in the Book of Marvels, Aaron goes to Darko's castle with Zlateh and the Lantuch to find the Book. As Aaron reads the information he needs, confirming that what Gronam said was true, the Lantuch accidentally alerts Darko while casting a spell. Darko takes the Book of Marvels back, but Zlateh attacks him, causing the Book to fall into the fire. As Aaron, Zlateh, and the Lantuch escape the castle, Darko sends the golem after them, but the golem has a change of heart due to Aaron's courage and refuses to harm him, even protecting him from Darko's attack. The Lantuch is hit on the head by a rock, regains his memory, and turns Darko to stone. Though reluctant to kill the golem after his latest action, Aaron does so by erasing a symbol on his head to save the world.
With Chelm destroyed, all its inhabitants leave to find new homes somewhere else, with Shlemiel and his family intending to go to "Chelm #1".
A golem is an animated anthropomorphic being in Jewish folklore, which is created entirely from inanimate matter, usually clay or mud. The most famous golem narrative involves Judah Loew ben Bezalel, the late 16th-century rabbi of Prague. According to Moment magazine, "the golem is a highly mutable metaphor with seemingly limitless symbolism. It can be a victim or villain, man or woman—or sometimes both. Over the centuries, it has been used to connote war, community, isolation, hope, and despair."
Doctor Doom is a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby, the character first appeared in The Fantastic Four #5. In his comic book appearances, Doctor Doom is the monarch of the fictional European country of Latveria whose goal is to bring order to humanity through world conquest. He serves as the archenemy of Mister Fantastic and the Fantastic Four, though he has also come into conflict with other superheroes in the Marvel Universe, including Spider-Man, Iron Man, Doctor Strange, the Black Panther, the X-Men, and the Avengers. While usually portrayed as a villain, Doom has also been an antihero at times, working with heroes if their goals align and only if it benefits him. Doctor Doom was ranked #4 by Wizard on its list of the 101 Greatest Villains of All Time and #3 on IGN's list of the Top 100 Comic Book Villains of All Time. In a later article, IGN would declare Doom as Marvel's greatest villain.
Dr. Stephen Vincent Strange is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by Steve Ditko, the character first appeared in Strange Tales #110. Doctor Strange serves as the Sorcerer Supreme, the primary protector of Earth against magical and mystical threats. Strange was introduced during the Silver Age of Comic Books in an attempt to bring a different kind of character and themes of mysticism to Marvel Comics.
The Source of Magic is a fantasy novel by British-American writer Piers Anthony, the second book of the Xanth series. This novel begins one year after the events of A Spell for Chameleon, and describes the adventures of Bink after he has settled down with his pregnant wife, Chameleon. King Trent had appointed Bink the Official Researcher of Xanth at the end of the previous book, and given him the task to discover Xanth's source of magic.
Wiccan is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character has been depicted as a member of the Young Avengers, a team of teenage superheroes, as well as Strikeforce and New Avengers. Created by writer Allan Heinberg and artist Jim Cheung, the character first appeared in Young Avengers #1. The character's appearance is patterned on that of two prominent Marvel superheroes, Thor and Scarlet Witch, both of whom are members of the Avengers. Like the Scarlet Witch, Wiccan possesses powerful magical abilities which make him a key member of his superhero team.
Pluto is a fictional deity appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character is based on the Greco-Roman god of the same name.
"Smash the Mirror" is the eighth and ninth episode of the fourth season of the American fantasy drama series Once Upon a Time, which aired on November 16, 2014. This episode has a length of two hours, making it the first time in the series' run that it aired a two-hour episode without the second part having a separate title; it has since been split into two separate episodes in subsequent airings. The episodes were filmed with a single production code, as confirmed by writer and co-executive producer Jane Espenson, and later separated.
Wong is a character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer Stan Lee and artist Steve Ditko, the character first appeared in Strange Tales #110. Wong was unnamed until Strange Tales #119. He is a supporting character of the superhero Doctor Strange. He stems from a family of monks living in Kamar-Taj.
Elijah bar Aaron Judah Baal Shem was a Polish rabbi and kabbalist who served as chief rabbi of Chełm. One of the most eminent Talmudists of his generation, he is recorded as the first person known by the epithet "Ba'al Shem" having been considered a great saint and believed to have used miraculous powers to create a golem.
Lupin the 3rd: Treasure of the Sorcerer King is a stealth/action video game from Banpresto. It has an original story based on the manga and media franchise Lupin III. The gameplay relies heavily on stealth and the use of various disguises and is displayed from a third-person perspective.
Doctor Strange: The Oath is a 2007 comic book limited series written by Brian K. Vaughan, drawn by Marcos Martin, published by Marvel Comics and starring the superhero Doctor Strange. The story follows Doctor Strange as he searches for the person who tried to kill him, while he also looks for a stolen magical elixir that will cure the terminal cancer of Wong, his faithful servant. Doctor Strange finds himself facing another disciple of the Ancient One, who has learned about the elixir and is determined to destroy it.
Mystic Arcana is a 2007 Marvel Comics storyline published as a series of four one-shot titles. Each book in the series contains an individual main story followed by a back-up story with a plot that continues through all four books. The main story in each book focuses on a different fictional character, each of whom has had associations with magic in previous Marvel publications. The four characters featured are Magik, the Black Knight, the Scarlet Witch, and Sister Grimm. Artist Marko Djurdjevic illustrated the cover for each issue.
Zlateh the Goat and Other Stories is a 1966 book of short stories written by Polish-American author Isaac Bashevis Singer. The stories were translated from Yiddish, which was Singer's language of choice for writing, by Singer and Elizabeth Shub. Maurice Sendak provided illustrations for the book. Among other recognition the book received, it was a runner-up for the Newbery Medal in 1967. It has been translated into many languages.
Kamar-Taj is a fictional location appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. It first appeared in Strange Tales #110 and was created by Stan Lee and Steve Ditko. The name "Kamar-Taj" does not appear in early Lee/Ditko Doctor Strange stories, but was created later as the country's backstory was fleshed out.
"Secret Wars" is a 2015–16 comic book storyline published by Marvel Comics. It recalls the 1984–1985 miniseries of the same name. Released on May 6, 2015, the storyline includes a core Secret Wars miniseries, written by Jonathan Hickman and drawn by Esad Ribić, which picks up from where the "Time Runs Out" storyline running in The Avengers and New Avengers ended. The event also served as a conclusion to the Fantastic Four after Marvel decided to cancel the title due to a film rights dispute with 20th Century Fox.
Doctor Stephen Vincent Strange is a superhero portrayed by Benedict Cumberbatch in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) media franchise—based on the Marvel Comics character of the same name, commonly referred to by his academic title. Initially depicted as an intelligent and arrogant neurosurgeon, Strange experiences a career-ending car accident. In his search to repair his damaged hands, he discovers magic from Kamar-Taj. He becomes a Master of the Mystic Arts, using his newfound powers to protect the Earth from various threats.
Wanda Maximoff is a character primarily portrayed by Elizabeth Olsen in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) media franchise based on the Marvel Comics character of the same name. Wanda is initially depicted as a Sokovian refugee who, along with her twin brother Pietro, volunteers to be experimented on by Hydra. The Mind Stone, known as Chaos magic, amplifies her natural telekinetic and energy manipulation abilities. Wanda initially conflicts with the Avengers but later joins them to defeat Ultron, becoming one of their most powerful members.
A Hanukkah film is a genre of film in which the main emphasis is on the celebration of the Jewish holiday of Hanukkah. Films in this style may incorporate the religious aspects of Hanukkah, such as lighting the menorah or the story of the Maccabees, along with cultural aspects of Hanukkah, such as spinning dreidels, or eating traditional foods such as latkes, sufganiyot, or gelt.
The Wise Men of Chelm are foolish Jewish residents of the Polish city of Chełm, a butt of Jewish jokes, similar to other towns of fools: the English Wise Men of Gotham, German Schildbürger, Greek residents of Abdera, or Finnish residents of the fictional town of Hymylä. Since at least 14th century Chełm had a considerable population of Jews.
When Shlemiel Went to Warsaw is a short story by Isaac Bashevis Singer from his cycle about the Fools of Chełm.