What a beautiful film! "Hester Street" is a subtle, fine immigrant tale centered on a Jewish wife and mother who arrives in New York City in the late 1890s, not just a period drama as it has been often identified... and a highly enjoyable comedy too. I remember seeing Carol Kane for the first time in "Carnal Knowledge". She had a wonderful face that I never forgot. Bu in "Hester Street", Joan Micklin Silver made her a glowing presence, and gave her a moving character to play, for which she was nominated for an Academy Award. Steven Keats is also very good as her husbands, as well as Dorrie Kavanaugh as her husband's mistress. A plausible entry into the National Film Registry, not to be missed.
Review of Hester Street
