This movie gets under your skin. The story, the acting, the black and white fotography and Quincy Jones' soundtrack make this a very memorable experience.
Occasionally we are made to believe that victims of atrocious crimes are "good people". While it is true that they have suffered greatly and those who never did owe them sympathy, it is just not logical to conclude that victims have acquired "goodness" solely by being victims surviving their ordeal. The Pawnbroker deals with the fate of such a survivor. It does it in a way that is unique: The victim becomes a real, three dimensional person - a great performance by Rod Steiger - and the victim has a normal everyday "life after" that grinds on and on.
You feel sorry for pawnbroker Sol Nazerman, because you know that he has been through hell, that his family was annihilated, that he was humiliated beyond endurance in the most sadistic way. At the same time you have to admit that Sol Nazerman is not a very pleasant character. Is it the result of his terrible experiences that he is that way? The movie says as much, but does it really matter? Nazerman functions as an independent, tax paying citizen, and he is trapped within himself. He is slowly despairing behind the bars of his pawnshop counter. He is full of bitterness and self hate and meets material and emotional requests from others with sharp sarcasm.
What makes the story and the film really great is the way it shows Nazerman's inability to communicate within his surroundings. In the depiction of Nazerman as a misfit the movie goes beyond the specific historical and geographical circumstances and in giving the social misfit a face and a voice lies the brilliance of all of Rod Steigers best performances.
POSSIBLE SPOILER AHEAD
The pawnbroker has a helper who is the person closest to him. Jesus, a cheerful, somewhat naive youth from the neighbourhood, is very eager to learn business from Nazerman. He is full of hope and convinced that by finding out his boss's "secrets" he could get on the way to prosperity. Nazerman at times shows a glimpse of love or even fatherly feelings for Jesus. For me the climax of the film is when Jesus asks his boss casually about "his people". Nazerman starts telling Jesus in a brilliantly phrased, sermon-like summary of the four thousand years of Jewish suffering. The miserable pawnbroker gets heated up, his voice and his anger rise. Jesus writhes uncomfortably. When it's over Jesus gulps and says: "You are some guy" and the episode is over. It shows with much clarity - and this really impressed me very much - that Nazerman was not aware that he expressed himself in a way that a kid with the background of Jesus could not possibly understand what he meant to tell him. This unawareness of the pawnbroker will at the end of the movie cost Jesus life. Nazerman then "comes to his senses" and squarely blames himself for the tragedy. The end of the movie is really too cruel to bear.
Occasionally we are made to believe that victims of atrocious crimes are "good people". While it is true that they have suffered greatly and those who never did owe them sympathy, it is just not logical to conclude that victims have acquired "goodness" solely by being victims surviving their ordeal. The Pawnbroker deals with the fate of such a survivor. It does it in a way that is unique: The victim becomes a real, three dimensional person - a great performance by Rod Steiger - and the victim has a normal everyday "life after" that grinds on and on.
You feel sorry for pawnbroker Sol Nazerman, because you know that he has been through hell, that his family was annihilated, that he was humiliated beyond endurance in the most sadistic way. At the same time you have to admit that Sol Nazerman is not a very pleasant character. Is it the result of his terrible experiences that he is that way? The movie says as much, but does it really matter? Nazerman functions as an independent, tax paying citizen, and he is trapped within himself. He is slowly despairing behind the bars of his pawnshop counter. He is full of bitterness and self hate and meets material and emotional requests from others with sharp sarcasm.
What makes the story and the film really great is the way it shows Nazerman's inability to communicate within his surroundings. In the depiction of Nazerman as a misfit the movie goes beyond the specific historical and geographical circumstances and in giving the social misfit a face and a voice lies the brilliance of all of Rod Steigers best performances.
POSSIBLE SPOILER AHEAD
The pawnbroker has a helper who is the person closest to him. Jesus, a cheerful, somewhat naive youth from the neighbourhood, is very eager to learn business from Nazerman. He is full of hope and convinced that by finding out his boss's "secrets" he could get on the way to prosperity. Nazerman at times shows a glimpse of love or even fatherly feelings for Jesus. For me the climax of the film is when Jesus asks his boss casually about "his people". Nazerman starts telling Jesus in a brilliantly phrased, sermon-like summary of the four thousand years of Jewish suffering. The miserable pawnbroker gets heated up, his voice and his anger rise. Jesus writhes uncomfortably. When it's over Jesus gulps and says: "You are some guy" and the episode is over. It shows with much clarity - and this really impressed me very much - that Nazerman was not aware that he expressed himself in a way that a kid with the background of Jesus could not possibly understand what he meant to tell him. This unawareness of the pawnbroker will at the end of the movie cost Jesus life. Nazerman then "comes to his senses" and squarely blames himself for the tragedy. The end of the movie is really too cruel to bear.