To follow up on my post about Sephardic Spanish, I’ll give you the name of a film with  Tom Hanks as the co-star. Every Time We Say Goodbye was a movie made by an Israeli director in 1986 where a good deal of the dialogue is in Espanyol! That film was the first time I’d heard of the Sephardic Jews. Tom Hanks plays a man from the US who is serving in the British RAF during World War II, before the US entered the war. He doesn’t speak Espanyol, but his friend is dating a Sephardic woman and through her the man from the US meets the love of his life. Will her Ladino family’s traditions allow them to be together?

Not a movie I’d recommend for young kids, due to the time the characters spend in the bedroom… But a well written story with cool cultural information about Sephardic Jews. I’ve seen it twice, the author of Fake Flamenco tends to be a romantic.

Another resource is this great summary by Sarah Aroeste about Ladino/Espanyol.

Gracias for reading! Let me know in the comments if you see the movie, or leave a note you’ve stopped by. -Rebecca

Para leer este ensayo en español, haz un clic en “¿Cómo es el espanyol sefardí?”