Fiddler on the Roof (Movie Reaction)

Fiddler on the Roof- Thank you so much for your reaction to this absolutely beautiful movie and one of my all time favorite musicals!! I really love Fiddler on the Roof, and I love, love, love how the character of the fiddler on the roof, shown all throughout this movie as a figment of Tevye's mind... is a symbol for the theme of tradition and change throughout this entire movie. This movie is quite special because it shows the struggles we all go through when change comes and disrupts our lives and our traditions. In many different ways, we all can connect to Tevye, as well as the rest of the characters. Even in the smallest ways. And while this story throughout this movie and its characters are all fictional, events such as these truly happened, and this movie is a reminder to us. A reminder of the troubles those before us suffered so that we can truly have the freedoms we all celebrate and are grateful for today. Jews and non Jews alike. And I am truly grateful. Now... the music alone throughout this movie is absolutely beautiful and the songs are a lot of fun. And when I learned years later after having already seen this movie dozens of times, that the music was written and composed by John Williams, who is one of the most famous and beloved music composers of all time because of all the movies he has created music for from Star Wars, Indiana Jones, and E.T. to Jurassic Park, etc..., I came to love the music all the more. As for my favorite songs... I love the very first song that sets up the theme of this musical... Tradition. And I love If I Were a Rich Man, also sung by Tevye who is played by Topol, a phenomenal actor! And a number of these songs are taken and remade for other movies, commercials, etc..., which is why you recognize so many of them. Gwen Stefani's song... Rich Girl, was inspired by If I Were a Rich Man. :) It's also been used in other movies as well, as have songs such as Matchmaker, sung by Tevye's daughters. Other than Tradition and If I Were a Rich Man, I also absolutely love Far From the Home I love sung by Tevye's middle daughter, Hodel as she sings of her love for her home and her fear of leaving it and her family, but her longing to be with the man she's now come to love as well. So emotional and beautiful. And I also love, love, love the entire nightmare sequence... the Wedding Procession sung by Tevye's and Golde's dead ancestors, as well as Lazar Wolf's dead wife Fruma Sarah. This song is just a lot of fun and it shows the creative genius within Tevye, as he conjures this whole dream sequence in the form of a nightmare to trick Golde into believing her grandmother had come from beyond the grave to bless their daughter, their family, and the wedding, in order to avoid admitting the truth about his decision to let their daughter Tzeitel and Motel marry without talking about it with his wife. Simply admitting the truth, Tevye knew Golde would be livid and would never let it go. But Tevye knew Golde would believe that Grandmother Tzeitel as well as Fruma Sarah had come to him in his dream, because people in those days believed in the meanings behind their dreams and were superstitious in numerous ways. I just absolutely love this whole sequence. The music is a lot of fun. :) And then... I also really love the dance within the wedding when the men perform a traditional Jewish dance... balancing wine bottles on their hats while dancing in perfect sync. It looks amazing, and there were no tricks involved with keeping the bottles in balance on top of their hats. It was skill and raw talent. Brilliant!!! :) As for my favorite characters... as you can imagine, I love, love, love Tevye himself. He's a strong and powerful character, and he's also hilarious. Most of all, I deeply love his inner struggle throughout this film, as he struggles to cope with all of their traditions changing so much until the changes very nearly break him. I also love the humor he brings, especially when he talks with God and to Golde and to Perchik, and upon creating the nightmare to trick his wife. Also... I love Golde because she has quite the tongue and I love her relationship with Tevye. Their song they sing together as they come to understand they truly do love one another is so adorable and beautiful too. And then... I also really love Perchik too. I love that he brings a new way of thinking into not only Tevye's life, but as well as into the lives of everyone throughout all of Anatevka. He helps them to see that the world is changing and that change doesn't have to be scary, but wonderful. I just love his way of thinking, and I love his relationship with Hodel as well. If there was any of the three daughters' love story I would have loved to see more of, it would definitely be Hodel's love for Perchik. I love how he inspires her to be her own woman and helps her to be able to think for herself. However, I also love Chava's and Fyedka's relationship as well. I would have loved to see more development within their love story too. Their love brings the most chaos and pain for Tevye and their family, because Chava is a Jew, while Fyedka is Russian and not of their faith. Even today, people marrying outside of their faith can cause trouble and pain for their loved ones. It's a struggle that has continued to exist no matter the change that comes around them. Prejudice against race, religion, etc... has existed from the beginning of time, and sadly, it will continue to exist through the end of time. People hate others back then, throughout all of history, and now just to hate, whether their hatred and mistrust is justified or not. And sadly, people are constantly hurt and suffer from such hate. It's tragic. But I love how this storyline goes so deep into such a painful theme. It's shows us the impact of our hate and prejudice of others. And hopefully, it helps us to see the error of ours ways and helps us to learn from our mistakes. Just as we see Tevye learn by the very end... as he asks his oldest daughter Tzeitel to offer his third daughter and her new husband peace and happiness through God, simply by uttering these final words to her. It's so sad that he pushed his daughter away because she rebelled in such a way that nearly breaks him, but I do believe Tevye comes around and finds peace with her marriage to Fyedka, therefore offering peace of mind to them as well. Had this movie continued and if we were to see more of their stories... I do believe that in time, their broken relationship would be shown to be mended and that we would see them all come together again. Like I said... I truly love Tevye's overall struggle with all the changes threatening his family's and their people's traditions and their beliefs within their faith. This overall storyline is powerful and emotional. We all go through similar and different kinds of struggles that threaten our traditions and ways of life. But in the end, our struggles can hopefully become a blessing for us if we allow ourselves to learn the lessons that come from them, just as Tevye comes to realize by the end. And I firmly believe that God will never give us a struggle that we can't overcome. Change can be wonderful. We just have to fight through the pain that comes with it. "Our lives... they can all be as shaky as... as a fiddler on the roof!" Thank you once again for this reaction, Reds!! I really enjoyed watching this beautiful movie again with you as you watch it for the first time. And I'm so happy that you enjoyed Fiddler on the Roof as well. The ending is very sad, but beautiful too. I can't wait for many more reactions from you to come! Thank you very much!! :) Sincerely, Heidi

Heidi Elizabeth Marcum