{"id":9589,"date":"2013-08-14T14:25:23","date_gmt":"2013-08-14T12:25:23","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/pinartarhan.com\/blog\/?p=9589"},"modified":"2013-08-14T14:25:23","modified_gmt":"2013-08-14T12:25:23","slug":"solomon-and-gaenor-starring-ioan-gruffudd-nia-roberts-a-period-love-story","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/pinartarhan.com\/blog\/solomon-and-gaenor-starring-ioan-gruffudd-nia-roberts-a-period-love-story\/","title":{"rendered":"Solomon and Gaenor starring Ioan Gruffudd & Nia Roberts: A Period Love Story"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Solomon<\/a>
Solomon and Gaenor starring Ioan Gruffudd & Nia Roberts. Image via movies.zap2it.com.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Detailed Plot (Minor Spoilers)<\/b><\/p>\n

1911, Whales.<\/p>\n

Solomon (Ioan Gruffudd) is a young Jewish man living with his family, working as a packman for his father\u2019s cotton shop and getting a bit fed up with the strict rules of the religion and attitudes of his family.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s an era where most people are not doing well. Welsh men work the mines and the Welsh and Jews just tolerate each other. Not that they are a fan of The English, either.<\/p>\n

So when Solomon runs into a lovely Welsh girl named Gaenor \u00a0(Nia Roberts) during one of his door-to-door runs, he introduces himself as Sam Livingston, an English packman. She is soon lured by his gentle manners and attention, and they start seeing each other.<\/p>\n

While her brother isn\u2019t thrilled, Gaenor is certain that Solomon is serious so Gaenor sleeps with him. \u00a0She wants to meet his family, but he keeps making excuses- knowing his family would never accept a non-Jew.<\/p>\n

It all goes well until she becomes pregnant. Solomon doesn\u2019t know, and he hasn\u2019t asked her to get married or meet his parents. So she leaves him. She also has to bear the reaction of her church and his father insists she married the guy. She\u2019 rather give the baby away then be with a guy who doesn\u2019t seem to love her properly.<\/p>\n

Solomon does his best to see her, despite the violent reactions of his brothers. Upon his insistence, she searches for his secret and finally confronts him.<\/p>\n

He is afraid to lose his family, but also doesn\u2019t want to lose Gaenor.<\/p>\n

Running away seems to be only option, but friends and family provide obstacles that will bear tragic results…<\/p>\n

\"Solomon<\/a>
Image via allmovies.com.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Love vs. Prejudice, Society, Family & Religion<\/b><\/p>\n

Solomon and Gaenor is a strange love story. I say strange because like its characters, it comes and goes between daring and shy, subtle and obvious, conventional and understanding (though Solomon\u2019s family is strictly set on the prejudiced mode).<\/p>\n

Solomon\u2019s lying about his name and backgrounds is a form of rebelling to the mutual prejudice in the town as well his parents\u2019 unflexible lifestyle. While it isn\u2019t nice to lie to Gaenor, I can sympathize with why he did in the beginning. She probably wouldn\u2019t have been that open to dating a Jew, and even if she was open-minded enough, her parents wouldn\u2019t let probably let her. And she\u2019d be more inclined to listen.<\/p>\n

But of course it isn\u2019t fair for Gaenor, who has a mind of her own despite the traditions and conventions of the era and religion she belongs to. It was her choice to sleep with Solomon before they were engaged or something, but then again she didn\u2019t have any reason to believe she wouldn\u2019t be.<\/p>\n

Solomon should have at least explained her the situation before they got intimately involved, but hey there is only so much maturity in him before his infatuation and hormones get in the way.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s the problem with semi-conformity. If he had the nerve to tell her the truth, stand up to his parents (and face the consequences of rejection), the story would have had a different kind of ending.<\/p>\n

And while it is not easy losing your family, you should remember Solomon was never that happy with them, didn\u2019t quite belong. It was heart-breaking when his father wouldn\u2019t even include him in a prayer \u2013 because hey, he is an adult.<\/p>\n

And remember, in the end he was sort of excluded anyway, and he did choose to risk whatever is left of their support, as well his life, to be with her at the end.<\/p>\n

I was surprised by, and towards the end respected, Gaenor\u2019s father. Considering his reaction to the red dress, I semi-expected him to shun her and throw her to the street after she got pregnant. But he encouraged marriage to the father, if she wanted to keep the baby. Considering the era, he was pretty damn cool about it in the long run. So was her mom, supporting her decision if she didn\u2019t want the guy.<\/p>\n

Her brother was a bit of a jerk, but Solomon did deserve some of it. 1911 or 2013 \u2013 I can\u2019t imagine too many brothers reacting differently regardless of personality or education. Here\u2019s a dude who lied to and impregnated her sister and wasn\u2019t begging for marriage (as far as he knew)…<\/p>\n

*<\/p>\n

Weird as it might be when it comes to some of the character reactions, it is for the most part a decent and lovely story about following your heart and being your own person despite the society\u2019s and family\u2019s dictation and having to suffer through the consequences \u2013 as well as the consequences of bad timing and bad luck.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s well worth a watch if you love tragic love stories that has some believable obstacles and good actors. And yes, I\u2019ll go the shallow route here and admit I don\u2019t exactly blame Gaenor for not controlling herself. Ioan Gruffudd is his usual gorgeous self in the movie, and his character (especially before we saw his timid, conflicted side) was quite lovely.<\/p>\n

Made in 1999, written and directed by Paul Morrison. Was nominated for Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film \u2013 though the majority of the film is in English, realistically there\u2019s also Yiddish and Welsh.<\/p>\n