Golden Voices (2019) was co-written and directed by Evgeny Ruman.
It stars Mariya Belkina as Raya Frenkel and Vladimir Friedman as her husband, Victor Frenkel. The Frenkels had a successful career in Russia because they were very good at dubbing Hollywood films into Russian.
However, when they move to Israel, there isn't that much demand for their skills. Still, they might be OK, except that they don't have the movies to work with. So, they end up filming the films which, of course, is illegal. The plot is the story of how they survive in a country in which their skills are not needed.
The acting and direction are excellent. The movie appeared to be low-budget, and was a little rough around the edges. Still, I enjoyed it and recommend it. Golden Voices has a tepid IMDb rating of 7.1. I thought it was better than that, and rated it 8. We saw this film virtually as part of the outstanding Rochester Jewish Film Festival.
7.1Plot summary
Victor and Raya Frenkel were the golden voices of the Soviet film dubbing for decades. All the western movies that reached Soviet screens were dubbed by them. In 1990, with the collapse of Soviet Union, the Frenkels decided to do Aliyah - immigrate to Israel, just like hundreds of thousands of Soviet Jews. There's no need in Israel for Russian speaking dubbing artists, and Victor's and Raya's attempts to use their talent will cause bizarre and unexpected events during their first months in Israel, and turn the beginning of the new chapter of their life into an amusing, painful, and absurd experience.
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Dubbing movies into Russian
Harsh realities of twilight years
I expected this movie to be a good-spirited comedy that pays homage to the world of classic cinema. This assumption of mine wasn't totally wrong, however, the overall impression of the film was slightly different. This is a story of an old Jewish couple who were successful voice actors in Russia, but faces harsh realities after they immigrated to Israel. Since Russian actors are almost of no use in this country, the sixty-two-year old wife starts working in a phone sex service using her once cherished "golden voice". I laughed at the situation, but as the story progresses, I was saddened by the cruelty the wife eventually faces. You do not have to be a Russian immigrant to relate to the character. This movie is about people losing confidence and struggling to find the place in the world in their twilight years, which more or less, everyone's going to experience someday.
The Israeli movie I saw in many years
I laughed and I admit I cried. It tells the story of people who left their previous lives, with all their achievements, and friends. They hoped for better and believed that they'd be needed for their talants. Maybe it's the story of every immigrant, but just go and see it, you won't be disappointed..