This rousing musical, based on the stories of Shalom Aleichem,
takes place in pre-revolutionary Russia and centers on the life
of Tevye (Topol), a milkman who is trying to keep his family's
traditions in place while marrying off his three older daughters.
Yet, times are changing and the daughters want to make their
own matches, breaking free of many of the constricting customs
required of them by Judaism. In the background of these events,
Russia is on the brink of revolution and Jews are feeling increasingly
unwelcome in their villages. Tevye--who expresses his desire
for sameness in the opening number, "Tradition"--is trying to
keep everyone, and everything, together. The movie is strongly
allegorical--Tevye represents the common man--but it does it
dexterously, and the resulting film is a stunning work of art.
The music is excellent (it won Oscars for the scoring and the
sound), with plenty of familiar songs such as "Sunrise, Sunset"
and "If I Were a Rich Man," which you'll be humming long after
the movie is over. Isaac Stern's violin--he provides the music
for the fiddler on the roof--is hauntingly beautiful. And despite
the serious subject matter, the film is quite comedic in parts;
it also well deserves the Oscar it won for cinematography.
