A Compelling Immigrant Narrative is Marred by a Weak Script and Acting in Ela Thier’s ‘Foreign Letters’

TCM will feature films from 12 decades—and representing 44 countries—totaling 100 classic and current titles all created by women. Read more about this here! 

The girls stand outside Thuy’s apartment building.

In 1982, a young girl and her family must adjust to life as immigrants in America after leaving Israel to escape war. While exchanging letters with her best friend back home, the young daughter finds a new, lifelong friend in a quiet Vietnamese girl in her class. Based on her own childhood, Ela Thier’s Foreign Letters (2012) chronicles the struggles of assimilating to a new language and culture while yearning for the one you left. Unfortunately, its engaging subject matter does not cancel out its weak script and static acting. (RMM: 2.5/5)

Review by FF2 Associate Roza M. Melkumyan

In an era before email (1982, to be more exact), pre-teen “Ellie” (Noa Rotstein) spends her first weeks in America exchanging letters with her best friend Shlomit in Israel. In order for her father (Udi Razzin) to avoid mandatory military service in a war that he and her mother (Ela Thier) don’t support, they’ve fled the country. Life in suburban Connecticut might be quieter than their life back in Israel, but it certainly isn’t easy. The family must navigate a society of foreign rules, a foreign culture, and a foreign language. 

Ellie’s first day of 6th gradel is nerve-wracking, to say the least. She barely speaks English, and nobody else speaks Hebrew. Though they probably aren’t trying to be mean, the other kids are not at all sensitive to Ellie’s feelings or the difficulty of her situation. In a particularly heartbreaking scene, Ellie tries to find someone to sit with in the cafeteria. In broken English, she asks if she can sit with a group of girls but misunderstands when they say she can’t because the seat is saved. One girl whispers to another that “she doesn’t speak English,” and the girls say “no” even louder. As she begins English lessons, Ellie writes her observations of American life and culture to Shlomit. 

When Ellie first sees the shy “Thuy” (Dalena Le), she wonders if they could be friends. Though Thuy claims to be too busy with her studies, she finally agrees to spend a day with Ellie, who is overjoyed. The two soon become inseparable, spending most of their free time together in the forest and at each other’s houses. Though Thuy now speaks English perfectly, she too struggled to fit in when she came to America from Vietnam as a child. She understands, to a degree, Ellie’s plight. And while the new best friends will go through some rough patches in their friendship, they will come out with an even stronger bond than before. 

Thuy teaches Ellie a traditional Vietnamese dance

The subject matter of Foreign Letters (2012) is both fascinating to delve into and a valuable narrative to see. Frankly, any story detailing immigrant life in America is worth watching because, as an American, you might not think much about the foreigner’s experience in your country. You don’t recognize the particular privilege you have as a native; your intelligence will never be questioned based on your English skills. You’ll never have to assimilate into a culture just to be accepted by those around you. As an immigrant or a child of immigrants in America, you probably know all too well the challenges that Ellie and her family face, as well as the accompanying feelings of frustration and despair. In Ellie, I see both my mother (who came from Uzbekistan) and my father (who fled war in Azerbaijan). Whenever she is made to feel stupid because she can’t articulate herself in English, I think of the nearly identical struggle that my own family has faced. All too often, as the natives, we can forget that culture and intellect exist outside our sphere of language.

Struggle aside, Ellie’s perspective itself on American life and culture compels us to watch. She writes to Shlomit that “in America, they use a machine to sharpen their pencils” and “there are restaurants inside the school.” Apparently, mechanical pencil sharpeners and cafeterias are not the norm in Israeli schools. Ellie can’t believe how much you can get for free in America. Her mother has amassed an impressively large collection of produce section plastic bags, plastic knives and forks, and sugar packets. Perhaps she doesn’t yet know that the unspoken rule is to take only one of each. American holidays are strange to Ellie, and seeing them through her fresh, foreign eyes is tremendous fun.

Still, I am saddened to see Ellie lose touch with aspects of herself in the name of assimilation. As she becomes more enveloped in American life, she drifts further away from the culture that raised her. On Simchat Torah (a Jewish holiday that marks the conclusion of the annual public Torah reading cycle), she writes to Shlomit that she had forgotten it was that day. The fear of feeling like and being labeled as an “other” drives Ellie to forsake the language and culture she loves so that people will accept her. At some point, she even expresses a desire to forget Hebrew entirely. As I watch this process unfold, I remember how, as a child, I tried to distance myself from my heritage to feel more American.

Compelled by her own childhood experiences as an immigrant, Ela Thier delivers a film steeped in potential but sadly lacking in execution. A weak script paired with stale implementation from its actors makes for long, slow, and lethargic-feeling scenes that I found myself wanting to skip through. Dialogue is often repetitive and not crafted to any useful effect; It only bogs down conversation. I understand that Ellie’s English is not meant to be great, especially at the beginning of the film. However, it doesn’t excuse either her or Thuy’s almost robotic delivery of their lines. Furthermore, they have practically no on-screen chemistry. If they had not declared to each other their friendship, I would not have noticed it. From start to finish of the film, every interaction between them lacks movement; each line hangs in the air like static. At the film’s end, Thier introduces us to Thuy’s inspiration, real-life friend Van. And while the two women clearly love each other,  their film counterparts might as well be strangers. Thier’s story in itself is touching and fascinating – it’s a shame that a film with such potential for dynamism falls so short of the mark. 

© Roza M. Melkumyan (10/23/20) FF2 Media

Ellie and Thuy conduct a prank call. 

Featured Photo: Ellie and Thuy sit together on a tree trunk. 

Photo Credits: Film Movement

Q: Does Foreign Letters pass the Bechdel-Wallace Test? 

Yes.

Ellie exchanges letters about life in America with Schlomit and discusses school and friendship with Thuy.

Avatar

By Roza Melkumyan

As a member of the FF2 Media team, Roza writes features and reviews and coaches other associates and interns. She joined the team as an intern herself during her third year of study at New York University. There she individualized her major and studied narrative through a cultural lens and in the mediums of literature, theatre, and film. At school, Roza studied abroad in Florence and London, worked as a Resident Assistant, and workshopped a play she wrote and co-directed. Since graduating, she spent six months in Spain teaching English and practicing her Spanish. Most recently, she spent a year in Armenia teaching university English as a Fulbright scholar. Her love of film has only grown over the years, and she is dedicated to providing the space necessary for female filmmakers to prosper.

1,001 comments

    1. cialis online no prescription For years we fought doctors and we were to every kind pediatrician, neurologist, endocrinologist, orthopedist, cardiologist, and because she was young, we got the old it s depression or it s in her mind or there aren t enough bands or there are no IGG bands

    1. 25 mg 69 mg orally every day for 14 days; followed by dosing 15 mg 92 mg every day; evaluate weight loss following dose escalation to 15 mg 92 mg after an additional 12 weeks of treatment If a patient has not lost at least 5 of baseline body weight on 15 mg 92 mg, discontinue as directed i priligy 30 mg and a Neuroscience Institute Fellowship T

    1. 4 exposure, strongly suggesting that intracellular Ca 2 levels regulate cNOS activity and that Ca 2 originates from the estrogen receptor s coupling to Ca i cialis vs viagra Kimmel Cancer Center at Thomas Jefferson, Philadelphia, PA

    1. In contrast to these negative effects, tamoxifen may represent a promising adjunctive treatment in bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, and possibly substance use disorders, one which lacks many of the side effects present in commonly used psychiatric agents Khan, 2018, Mikelman et al cronadyn vs priligy All mouse handling and experimental procedures were approved by the Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee of the University of Pittsburgh, and were conducted in accordance with the National Institutes of Health Guide for the Care and Use of Laboratory Animals

    1. Using a cohort of 688 lymph node negative, ER tumors obtained from patients enrolled in the NSABP B 14 clinical trial treated with tamoxifen alone, the 21 gene assay produced three prognosis scores of low, intermediate, and high risk finasteride 1 mg Sinus infections can be either acute or chronic

    1. Most of the interventions evaluated the effectiveness of the early detection and management of putative causal factors by geriatric or geriatric psychiatry consultation, education of house staff, monitoring of postoperative patients, or post discharge rehabilitation and follow up and or special nursing care to increase stimulation, reorientation, and recovery of function buy cialis online canadian pharmacy

    1. For the animal experiments, female nude mice Bom NMRI nu nu per xenograft experiment, ages 4 to 6 weeks and weighing 20 to 24 g, are used according to standard protocols cialis reviews 0003 for an interaction of the two

    2. Meanwhile, obvious histopathological changes were noted as follows decrease of glandular epithelial stratification, increased secretory activity, increased epithelial cell size with columnar cell type, increase of transparent, vacuolated cytoplasm, increase of nuclear size with variable shape and prominent nucleoli with marginal aggregation of chromatin propeciahelp Synthesis of a doxycycline 13 CD3 standard

    1. SARMs liquid is taken sublingually and is really easy to do cialis dosage The contractile responses to field stimulation and carbachol were reduced in all obstructed groups, although the responses in both grape treated groups were greater than both vehicle treated groups

    1. chlorthalidone decreases effects of sitagliptin by pharmacodynamic antagonism cialis price All of the following supplementary tests are indicated, EXCEPT A the red blood cell sedimentation rate B complete differential and blood cell counts C examination of the vulvar smear D a chest x ray E hepatic functional tests 4

    2. For instance, androgen blockade with bicalutamide is being evaluated to tackle viral entry and replication, and it may be useful for patients with mild respiratory symptoms cheapest place to buy cialis Signs usually begin within 1 to 3 days of ingestion and include loss of appetite, vomiting, diarrhea, passing large amounts of urine, excessive thirst, depression, and weakness

    1. In vitro activities of linezolid against multiple Nocardia species buy cialis uk Stomach discomfort Ovarian enlargement Flushing Breast discomfort Blurred vision Nausea Vomiting Clomid Tablet may also cause side- effects not listed here

  1. I do not even know how I ended up here, but I thought this post was great. I don’t know who you are but certainly you’re going to a famous blogger if you aren’t already 😉 Cheers!|

  2. Pingback: amazing sex games
    1. In the 31 adults, marked regression of gynecomastia occurred in 18 and a moderate regression in 10, whilst in the 11 cases of puberty gynecomastia, there was a marked regression in 7 and a moderate regression in three patients cialis for daily use Library preparation and RNA sequencing

    1. Its marketed products include Xyrem sodium oxybate, Erwinaze asparaginase Erwinia chrysanthemi, Prialt ziconotide intrathecal infusion, FazaClo clozapine USP HD and LD and Luvox CR fluvoxamine maleate cialis viagra levitra kaufen rezeptfrei Each of those ingredients has its necessary dosage data Of course, the efficiency matters as well, which may range quite a bit from supplement to complement Plus, when your blood sugar is more balanced, you re less likely to experience cravings and binge on snacks which is widespread when your blood sugar will get too low With this snacking gone from your food plan, you might be able to shed is 73 blood sugar low pounds more quickly

    1. generic cialis While we mourn with her family today, we also pledge our commitment to do whatever we can to assist in bringing the perpetrators of this abhorrent violence to justice, and to continue our efforts to improve the lives of people across the globe, the statement said

    2. 17 found that patients who received 5 years of tamoxifen up front, followed by 5 years of letrozole, had a statistically significant reduction in both risk for recurrence and risk for mortality at a longer follow up of 64 months cialis 10mg In an animal reproduction study, administration of lapatinib to pregnant rats during organogenesis and through lactation led to death of offspring within the first 4 days after birth at maternal exposures that were 3

    1. The euro zone economy was fragile overall, however, with some countries, notably Spain and Italy, still struggling buy cialis cheap cialis carvedilol 6 25 mg prospect HP is plagued with disparate systems for managing customers, partners and vendors, with each group in the company running its own sales team

    1. This can be due to deficient production of vasoconstrictors like endothelin 1 and prostaglandin F2О±, increased production of vasodilators such as prostaglandin E2 and prostacyclin, and excessive breakdown of clot in the endometrium by abnormal production of plasminogen activator buy cialis non prescription

    1. com 20 E2 AD 90 20Nugenix 20Vs 20Viagra 20 20Viagra 20Kopen 20Webshop nugenix vs viagra I do think that there was a sense of complacency before, about the Fed being able to drive the market higher simplythrough doing whatever it was doing, said Damien Boey, equitystrategist at Credit Suisse finasteride tablets for sale

    1. d Left vCA1 neurons active in Context A express CreER T2 under the control of the Arc promoter, which then induced the recombination of the DIO in the presence of 4 OHT, resulting in permanent ChR2 eYFP expression viagra and cialis together Regional anaesthesia is used in about one third of all surgical procedures in neonates and has proven useful in improving the treatment of postoperative pain and reducing the use of systemic analgesics such as opioids 63

    1. Daily use of exogenous estrogen for 3 weeks, which has been interrupted C best price for generic cialis 01 for acne Jennifer Petitgout suffered scrapes to her head, arms and breasts when Petitgout shoved her to the cobblestone street outside their car after a night out in the Meatpacking District, sources said

    1. 2014 Aug; 102 2 488 495 viagra for covid 242 200 propanolol 32219 201 propranolol or acifol or adrexan or alperol or anaprilin or anapriline or anaprilinium or anapryline or angilol or apsolol or arcablock or artensol or authus or avlocardyl or ay20694 or ay64043 or becardin or bedranol or beprane or bercolol or berkolol or beta neg or beta tablinen or beta timelets or betabloc or betadipresan or betadren or betaneg or betaprol or betares or betaryl or blocard or blocaryl or cardinol or ciplar or corbeta or deralin or dexpropranolol or dibudinate or dideral or dociton or docitone or durabeton or duranol or efektolol or elbrol or emforal or farmadral or farprolol or frekven or frina or hemangeol or hemangiol or hopranolol or ikopal or Impral or Inderal or inderalici or inderex or indicardin or indobloc or innopran or inpanol or ipran or lederpronol or levopropranolol or napriline or noloten or obsidan or obsin or obzidan or oposim or phanerol or prandol or prano puren or pranopuren or prestoral or prolol or pronovan or propabloc or propal or propalong or propayerst or propercuten or prophylux or propra ratiopharm or propral or propranur or proprasylyt or proprasylyte or reducor or rexigen or sagittol or stapranolol or sumial or tenomal or tensiflex or waucoton

    1. buy cialis online india Transgenic mice with tamoxifen inducible Cre recombinase CreER under the control of the FoxJ1 promoter A and B or the Nestin second intron enhancer C and D drive expression and induce recombination after 5 daily tamoxifen injections resulting in ОІ gal expression in cells lining the central canal in the adult spinal cord

    2. com 20 E2 AD 90 20Viagra 20Gold 20Usa 20Cara 20Makan 20 20Cara 20Minum 20Obat 20Viagra 20100 cara minum obat viagra 100 A shortage of funding and increasing demand is making it impossible to maintain adult social care services at current levels let alone to try and raise standards of care while our roads are crumbling under a 10 buy cheap generic cialis online These findings imply that oncogenic Kras mutations induce ADM, PanINs and ultimately PDA

    1. Kurokawa I, Danby FW, Ju Q, Wang X, Xiang LF, Xia L, Chen W, Nagy I, Picardo M, Suh DH, Ganceviciene R, Schagen S, Tsatsou F, Zouboulis CC 2009 New developments in our understanding of acne pathogenesis and treatment viagra meaning

    1. triamcinolone acetonide injectable suspension decreases effects of exenatide injectable suspension by pharmacodynamic antagonism real cialis no generic Here, we investigated the function and underlying mechanism of ER О±36 in TAM resistance

    1. Conclusion Age dependent blood pressure elevation is due to a highly reversible activation of procontractile signalling in vascular smooth muscle cells indicating that increased vascular tone can be a primary factor in the development of hypertension cialis no prescription

    2. viagra to be sold over the counter In recent studies of decompensation with kidney dysfunction during HF hospitalization, neither low dose dopamine nor low dose nesiritide enhanced decongestion or improved kidney function when added to diuretic therapy, but there was a significant interaction, with a trend for enhanced diuresis with both therapies in patients with lower EF

  3. Every sooner something chic is added to my echo remedy, your structure manages to apply pressure all obsession up. I induce had two new items added and this appears to procure reset the go out with repayment for the whole on my repeat. Consequence I am right now running out of everything! I am sincerely account impelling to a different ventolin inhaler price.
    Useful info. With thanks.

    1. com 20 E2 AD 90 20Viagra 20Et 20Risque 20Cardiaque 20 20Alternativa 20Naturale 20Al 20Viagra 20In 20Erboristeria alternativa naturale al viagra in erboristeria The Steam Controller also uses a central high resolution touch enabled screen that can display maps, allow users to scroll through menus, or just add extra buttons as needed for individual games buy generic cialis online safely

  4. At a high Mr. Henry and http://www.otchydroxychloroquine.com. This is to moderate ease up on you recognize that I’m categorically impressed through the effectiveness of your products. My horses are in preparation pro the start with race to recover consciousness and I set up every word you said about the products is correct and the horses are enjoying all right vigour and solid of energy so far. Drive place the second system in story month time.
    You revealed this well.

    1. With regards to ER and PgR status, five patients had moderate to strong grade 2 3 ER with the four of them having also grade 2 3 PgR staining real cialis no generic It started out as a complaint about thealleged mis selling of interest rate swaps but a judge ruledlast October that it could be amended to include claims offraudulent misrepresentation connected to Libor manipulation

    1. The following table summarizes the incidence of adverse reactions reported at a frequency of 2 or greater from clinical trials Ingle, Pritchard, Buchanan which compared Tamoxin tamoxifen citrate therapy to ovarian ablation in premenopausal patients with metastatic breast cancer buy cialis online 20mg

    1. cialis vs viagra Acute administration of loop diuretics like furosemide leads to a stimulation of renin secretion, an effect thought to result from inhibition of Na K 2Cl cotransporter NKCC2 mediated salt transport at the luminal surface of the macula densa MD

    1. Over the years, the Su family s horse farm has provided more than 2, 100 war horses for the imperial court, which is still increase sex drive and size pills far from the number of 3, 000, but it is not a big problem now propecia prostate cancer Plasma pregabalin level was 27 Ојg mL

    1. generic 5mg cialis best price The Daily Symptom Rating Form 28 was used and included the following symptoms depression, feeling hopeless or guilty, anxiety tension, mood swings, irritability anger, decreased interest, concentration difficulties, fatigue, food cravings increased appetite, insomnia or hypersomnia, feeling out of control overwhelmed, poor coordination, headache, aches, swelling bloating weight gain, cramps, and breast tenderness

  5. GP tradition had confirmed duplicate remedy issued 5 days erstwhile to my sojourn and EMIS webpage patient access sheet confirmed this. Pharmacist at ivermectina precio, Sell Concourse, Hoylake, refused to assistants uniform though patient had hasten out of tablets for incontinence – it was against his protocols! Had to get in touch with emergency rather on NHS 111 who referred me to a Lloyds apothecary later that, era who could not have been more helpful. What a ebb of NHS resources and indefatigable time.
    Wow all kinds of very good tips.

    1. brand name cialis online After run in, NT proBNP measurements were analyzed in a subpopulation of participants at the time of randomization n 1044 in the sacubitril valsartan arm and n 1029 in the enalapril arm, 1 month after randomization n 995 in the sacubitril valsartan arm and n 1003 in the enalapril arm, and 8 months after randomization n 915 in the sacubitril valsartan arm and n 903 in the enalapril arm

    2. Because only a part of the overall reduction in breast cancer mortality could possibly be attributed to screening, the review concluded that any relative reduction in breast cancer mortality resulting from screening would likely be no more than 10 viagra indication

  6. Fast/prompt service and delivery. Altogether arguable prices (gambler prices than the big style stores). I had a call in less something and received an urgent reply. Significant person service people. You can’t repeat ill-considered buying from this coterie ivermectin tablets ivermectablets.
    Amazing data. Kudos.

  7. After calling our scan, then my bride, I ushered drugs for ed into the barn & did my most desirable to stem the bleeding, and scrutinize to hang on patiently object of the cavalry to arrive. Our vet looked George to the ground & strong-willed the nature & cruelty of the split was “inoperable”; meaning that apart from administering some antibiotics to forestall sour infection, we had no well-chosen but to let George & Mother Kidney commission together on this one. This was undesirable to us; so the next day I paid a seize to Henry at the Cloverdale Pharmasave.

  8. Since partnering with pharmacotc.com, we keep doubled our beds served and almost tripled our revenue. This has been a win-win relationship. We keep date to time decision-making focusing on the needs of our customers but comprise the strong point, soundness and monetary assistance of a much larger organization. Amazing many of awesome facts.

  9. I am a Community Psychiatric Care for and I utilized ivermectin tablets on Raddlebarn Road on Friday 15th Jan 2021 at around 14.15 in mandate to class revealed some medication an eye to one of my patients. Regards. Plenty of content.

  10. My little woman and I changed our nominated pharmacy to Dale’s in Beyond repair c destitute Ferry approximately one year ago. Having masterly their marines for that period it has confirmed that it was a commonsensical move. The bloke usefulness is nonpareil: cognizant, neighbourly, profitable and efficient. The regular posologist has supported us in a expert manner and commonly “gone the addendum mile” to help. Dale stromectol for humans is a one and only alliance of antediluvian fashioned fellow mending with all the advantages that latest technology has to offer. We would both immensely endorse it. You actually stated this adequately.

  11. I would like to compliments the vastly polite and welcoming pair from ivermectin for humans who without any suspicion provided a 5* service. A jocose team, they were dressed smartly and the pharmacy was clean and tidy .Above I rise the deeply good climate conditioning!! Cheers. A lot of forum posts.

  12. I intended to post you this very little remark to be able to thank you so much once again regarding the great principles you’ve shared on this site. It has been quite strangely generous with you to allow freely precisely what most of us would’ve made available for an ebook to generate some money for themselves, mostly since you could possibly have done it if you ever desired. Those thoughts likewise served to be the great way to fully grasp most people have the same interest just as my very own to learn great deal more with regards to this matter. I’m certain there are some more pleasurable moments up front for those who looked over your site.