Left Luggage

Name: Left Luggage
Genre: Drama
Released: September 22, 2000
Duration: 100 min
Rating: 51
Cast: Laura Fraser

2000

METASCORE

Mixed or average reviews based on 15 Critic Reviews

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USER SCORE

Generally favorable reviews based on 12 Ratings

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6.3

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6.3	Your Score
6.3	User Score Generally favorable reviews based on 12 Ratings

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Movie Details & Credits

Castle Hill Productions | Release Date: September 22, 2000 | Unrated

Starring: Laura Fraser

Summary: Chaja (Fraser), a young and free-spirted liberal Jewish girl in 1970's Amsterdam, becomes the nanny to a retarded Jewish boy in a strict Hassidic Family.

Director: Jeroen Krabbé

Genre(s): Drama

Rating: Unrated

Runtime: 100 min

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Metascore

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Critic Reviews

Carrie Rickey

An exceptional film -- unpacks long-buried suitcases, both figuratively and literally. Read full review

Staff (Not credited)

The film is a thoughtful, but by no means somber, look at an issue that might strike a particular chord with Jews. Read full review

Jack Mathews

Krabbe attempts to stuff too many themes and subplots into the story. Read full review

David Stratton

A well intentioned but uneven and overly sentimental film. Read full review

David Sterritt

The drama has compelling moments and touches of imagination, but it relies more on sentiment than sense in conveying its messages about faith, family, and tradition. Read full review

Roger Ebert

One of those movies where the audience knows the message before the film begins and the characters are still learning it when the film ends. Read full review

Stephen Holden

So intent on pushing its virtuous agenda that its characters often sound like mouthpieces parroting predigested attitudes. Read full review

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User Reviews

ArnoldR.

Jan 29, 2006

Best film I've seen in several years. This film is a work of art to be appreciated by small sophisticated audience.

0 of 0 users found this helpful

yves

Mar 4, 2015

Over all I found it a very interesting movie. The film told a bit more about how children after the holocaust lived. It’s chocking to see how the Jewish people were disadvantaged in that time, they couldn’t walk over the street without being shout out. The movie was at times rather boring.Over all I found it a very interesting movie. The film told a bit more about how children after the holocaust lived. It’s chocking to see how the Jewish people were disadvantaged in that time, they couldn’t walk over the street without being shout out. The movie was at times rather boring. What really bothered me was that the mother constantly wanted to hand out cake to all the visitors. The funniest part of the movie was for me the moment of seeing what their neighbor below had do to her husband’s stamp collection. The most beautiful moment was when the boy first spoke to Chaya. At first it was just the sound of a duck but bit by bit he learned more words but finally he learned to speak perfectly. The saddest part was when Chaya heard that Simcha Kalman drown in the lake where they went to feed the ducks.… Expand

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

Tomas6tbh

Mar 3, 2015

It was the first time I saw a movie about Jewish people and their lifestyle. In my opinion it wasn’t a bad movie. The movie gives a good indication how Orthodox Jews live and how it looks in a Jewish district.
In the beginning of the movie we have a flashback, from before World War II.It was the first time I saw a movie about Jewish people and their lifestyle. In my opinion it wasn’t a bad movie. The movie gives a good indication how Orthodox Jews live and how it looks in a Jewish district.
In the beginning of the movie we have a flashback, from before World War II. Where Chaja’s father buries two suitcases.
The story takes place in 1972 in Antwerp. Chaja’s father has started searching for his suitcases. And Chaja’s looking for a job. She comes to the Jewish family Kalman via an advertisement. Where she starts cleaning the house. She also babysits the 4 year old Simcha who never talked to his family before. She takes him to the pond to feed the ducks. Suddenly he says quack quack. This is personally my best moment of the movie. The two build up va strong relationship and Simcha starts talking to his own family. The moment Chaja isn’t babysitting, Simcha runs away and drowns in the pond. That’s the saddest moment of the movie. When Chaja’s hears about the news that Simcha is dead she goes to his family but she isn’t welcome by other Jews.
At the end we see Chaja and his father searching for the suitcases.
I would give the movie a solid 7/10… Expand

0 of 1 users found this helpful01

chimpanzees

Mar 3, 2015

Speaking for myself I think it was a very good movie. You have movies about the tension between secular and religious Jews and movies about holocaust survivors. Both parts are incorporated in this movie.
Chaya, a Jewish college-aged woman in Antwerp, Belgium, couldn’t care less about herSpeaking for myself I think it was a very good movie. You have movies about the tension between secular and religious Jews and movies about holocaust survivors. Both parts are incorporated in this movie.
Chaya, a Jewish college-aged woman in Antwerp, Belgium, couldn’t care less about her family’s stories. Also she finds the Chasidim is very weird.
In order to raise some money to pay for her rent, she accepts to work as the nanny of two twin babies and a little boy in on orthodox Jewish home. Although she’s ready to quit the first day, she quickly develops a kinship with the youngest boy. The youngest boy’s name is Simcha. He can’t speak, even though he’s four years old.
Chaya spend allot of time whit the boy. As a result, she brings him out. He saw more things of life and has a lot of fun. He begins talking and even sing the Mah Nishtanah at the Seder.
Through the movie, I realize that you as orthodox Jewish people still can get good friends with people who is less faithful. You see that hatred of a particular group of people is not good. Everyone is different and with some of these group can you have fine experience.… Expand

0 of 1 users found this helpful01

coensmits

Mar 3, 2015

Left luggage is a film about children who survived the holocaust, not a common subject. They have a heavy life specially Simcha, a 4 year old boy from a family of 5. In the beginning he refused to talk until he met his new nanny; Chaya, she teaches him to speak while walking in the park.Left luggage is a film about children who survived the holocaust, not a common subject. They have a heavy life specially Simcha, a 4 year old boy from a family of 5. In the beginning he refused to talk until he met his new nanny; Chaya, she teaches him to speak while walking in the park. Suddenly he imitates the sound of a duck. The family is Chaya really thankful. Chaya and Simcha have built up an amazing friendship. That friendship was the only positive part in the film. All the rest was drama, from the beginning to the end and back. Not a film I would choose to watch but we watched it at school. That is one part of the story, the other part is about Chaya and her family. Her father is obsessed by finding the luggage he buried somewhere in Antwerp. He drives his wife creasy whit his obsession. Overall it is a good film if you like drama.… Expand

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

TomSchrijvers

Mar 3, 2015

I think it is a very nice movie. But some of the actors have a very strange accent and are difficult to understand.
The movie begins with a man who buries his suitcase. Throughout the movie you see its Chayas father and he tries to find his suitcase in the yards of people in Antwerp.
II think it is a very nice movie. But some of the actors have a very strange accent and are difficult to understand.
The movie begins with a man who buries his suitcase. Throughout the movie you see its Chayas father and he tries to find his suitcase in the yards of people in Antwerp.
I have seen many habits of Jewish people. I think the character of Simcha Kalman is very well played. And certainly because he is so young. At the beginning he was to scared to talk. But after he went to the pond with Chaya Silberschmidt for the first time, he imitated the sound of the ducks. But throughout the movie he talks to much more people. He even talks with his father where he was afraid of.
The saddest moment of the movie is when Chaya know that Simcha was drowned in the pond. After she heard this, she went to the family. But first she was not welcome and she was blamed for the death of Simcha.… Expand

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

pieter6TBH

Mar 3, 2015

The movie ‘Left Luggage’ is telling us how the people lived in the Holocaust. In my opinion, I liked the movie because now we know how the Jews lived in that time. The man was fighting in WWII and dug his suitcases in the ground to keep it away from the Nazi’s. after WWII, he went to thatThe movie ‘Left Luggage’ is telling us how the people lived in the Holocaust. In my opinion, I liked the movie because now we know how the Jews lived in that time. The man was fighting in WWII and dug his suitcases in the ground to keep it away from the Nazi’s. after WWII, he went to that place to find the suitcases. But the area has changed and he didn’t found them. In that time, his daughter Chaya is trying to find a new job. So she went to a Jewish family and being a nanny for the children. One child doesn’t speak and Chaya is trying to let him speak while walking to the park to feed the ducks. But when Chaya isn’t there, Simcha went to the park to feed them and felt in the water and then he died. The family of Simcha thinks that it’s her fault because she went to the park with him.
There are references with the Holocaust, especially when the man blocks the stair when Chaya destroyed the mans jacked.
The saddest part of the movies is that Mr. Apfelschnitt telling Chaya that Simcha is dead, that he drowned in the pool in the park.
Personally, I think that it was a terrible time in the Holocaust for the Jewish people, trying to hide them from the Nazi’s. because if they find them, they probably were killed.… Expand

0 of 1 users found this helpful01

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