Every Time We Say Goodbye

I ran across this film late at night and found it fascinating. The location shots are beautiful and the acting wonderful.

Set during WW2, the real war is between Hanks, his Jewish lover and her extremely bigoted family.

The scene where the Jewish girl's father calmly tells his daughter that if she marries the Gentile Hanks she will be "dead" to him is chilling. He speaks the words softly like a father telling his daughter a bedtime story and this coldheartedness is what makes the scene so unforgetable.

Great film!

I saw this while flipping channels and stopping on the local Canadian broadcast. It's not the best project Tom Hanks has ever been in, but the character is much more subdued than others he was playing at the time - it gave insight to the "serious" actor that Hanks was evolving to become.

The most fascinating part of the film is the look at the world of the Ladinos - Jews who were expelled from Spain during the Reconquest ending in 1492 and who retain the language and cultural traditions that they had in Spain centuries later.

Although some may raise an eyebrow about a film that takes place during WWII centering around Jewish people, and there's not even a mention of the ongoing Holocaust, to me, this underscores the inertia of human relations, that even when the entire planet is in the midst of war, and the fate of an entire people is at stake, we still have a tendency to cling to our differences.

One of the earlier efforts of Tom Hanks, this film is a nice, if somewhat unremarkable love story set against the background of WW2 in Jerusalem. Hanks meets a young jewish girl (Marsillach), they fall in love, but have to face her strongly religious family. The story is not as much about the war, as it is about love and religion. Though, the film isn't very "deep", it has some interesting ideas, for example the choice between human feelings and tradition. The strong religious beliefs of the girl's family seem so cruel at times, that it's hard to have any sympathy for them. Maybe a bit too black-and-white for some, but certainly an interesting little film, with (of course) an excellent Tom Hanks in the lead role. 7/10

I first saw this movie in 1986 when I was 28 years old. I'm a big fan of Tom Hanks, and at the time, this was really an off-beat role for him. I enjoyed this movie for a number of reasons. It was like the love stories of the 1940s. There is really no action at all in this film, just the central theme that "True Love Conquers All". This story takes place during World war II, and I disagree with some others here who find the relationship pure fantasy. In a time of war, when human life is so fragile, normal thought processes cease. Let's live for the moment becomes the central theme of things. For a soldier or for one who loves him/her, the only thing that is important is the now. Tom Hanks gives his typical outstanding performance. Spanish actress Cristina Marsillach is stunningly attractive. Being a romantic at heart, I like happy endings. Every Time We Say Good-Bye is a sentimental and moving love story.

1986 Romance starring a very young Tom Hanks as an injured U.S. pilot in 1942 Jerusalem who falls in love with a Jewish girl whose family, of course, disapproves. Also starring Cristina Marsillach, and Benedict Taylor.

This is quite unremarkable, mildly interesting, with little to offer in the way of amusement, entertainment, or enjoyment. Frankly, I can't imagine why anyone would sit all the way through it unless they are an avid Hanks fan, a film student, or writing a review for it.

It's not horrible, the performances are great, but the story itself is quite boring. There are one or two nice vista shots, and Hanks gives a sterling performance, and I had to dig deep to find those two compliments. Otherwise, do yourself a favor, and find something else to do.

It rates a 4.5/10 from...

the Fiend :.