The film has the unusual distinction of being partly in the Ladino language. With young lovers of very different backgrounds with religious/cultural differences, the film is an account of a forbidden love.[2]
During his recovery, David meets Sarah Perrara, a serene girl of Spanish Jewish descent. The two young people are attracted to each other but she is convinced that their diverse backgrounds mean it could never work. Her family's disapproval and the fact that he is a gentile son of a Protestant minister, stand in their way.
Although they keep running into each other in the small community, they find themselves parting as frequently as they find each other.
After his breakout role in Splash (1984), Tom Hanks signed on to star in Every Time We Say Goodbye. The drama was a departure from his earlier comedic television and screen roles.[3] Hanks was also ready to devote time to establishing a more serious catalog, but in contrast to the Hollywood films he had worked on, considered Every Time We Say Goodbye at $3.7 million, a "low budget" production.[4] Much of the film was shot on location in Israel, including in the King David Hotel, Jerusalem.[2]
Reception
At the time, Every Time We Say Goodbye was considered to be the most expensive Israeli film ($3.7 million), however, the film was a major box office bomb, with worldwide gross of only $278,623. To this day, according to Box Office Mojo, it remains the lowest grossing theatrically released film starring Hanks.[5] Reviews of the film were lukewarm at best, and the film had a limited release in theaters.[1]
Film critic Janet Maslin of The New York Times gave the film a negative review, saying "Tom Hanks is utterly out of place in the Israeli romance Every Time We Say Goodbye for at least two reasons: because there's something so innately comic about him, even in solemn surroundings, and because he has so much more energy than the film does."[6]
References
Notes
^Cast list as credited on screen, first billed only
