‘Dybbuk’: A Yiddish Milestone

The arduous restoration of “The Dybbuk” by the National Center for Jewish Film in New York in 1989 gives an idea of the 1938 movie’s importance to Jewish culture. The process started in 1976, taking 13 years before a pristine print was ready.

Technicians, scholars and other interested parties associated with the center traveled to several European countries searching for a copy, or parts of one, that had survived both age and World War II. All they could find were unusable, poorly made prints.

Finally, in 1983, a fine print was discovered in the back rooms of the British Film Institute in London. One problem, though: two reels were missing. But the center got lucky again in the next few years, obtaining good copies of the lost portions from private collections in Australia and Los Angeles.

When the center eventually released the restored version (both to theaters and in video), it described “The Dybbuk” as the greatest Yiddish film ever made. The Michael Waszynsky-directed picture (in Yiddish with English subtitles) screens tonight in Laguna Beach in a benefit for the Costa Mesa-based Jewish Senior Center of Orange County.

The movie is based on S. Ansky’s play (considered the most famous example of Yiddish theater during the earlier part of this century) which, in turn, is based on folklore. A dybbuk is “the wandering spirit” of someone who has died tragically or before his or her time.

The tale revolves around Leye (Lili Liliana) and Khonnon (Leon Liebgold), who live in a Polish-Russian settlement in the mid-19th Century. We first learn about them from their parents, Reb (Moishe Lipman) and Nisan (Gerson Lamberger), who agree, even before they’ve been born, that one day they’ll be married.

But Reb, Leye’s father, changes his mind as the children mature, sending “The Dybbuk” down its melodramatic, tragic path. Khonnon dies soon after, and his dybbuk possesses Leye. From there, the film explores the traditions of the Hasidic way of life in both a mystical and mundane sense; it’s a study of traditions and superstitions deeply held.

The movie has impact to Jews because of its history and to those less familiar with the culture because of its revealing moments. Many are fascinating--as when Khonnon invokes the devil in an attempt to win Leye--and Waszynsky presents them in a respectful, well-crafted way.

“The Dybbuk” may lack the sophistication of some bigger-budgeted pictures, but it makes up for it in authenticity. In its best passages, the movie has passion, even ecstasy, in its religious realism.

Besides, “The Dybbuk” has always been appreciated as a milestone of the Yiddish cinema, one of the least known. Reportedly, there have been hardly more than 100 Hebrew and Yiddish films made in the past 60 years, and few are as technically sound or as demonstrative of the Jewish culture as this one.

* What: Michael Waszynsky’s “The Dybbuk.”

* When: Tonight, June 9, at 7 p.m.

* Where: Laguna Leisure World, Club House 3 Auditorium, Moulton Parkway and Calle Aragon at Gate 3, Laguna Hills.

* Whereabouts: Take the Santa Ana Freeway (5) to El Toro Road and head west to Moulton Parkway. Then head south to Calle Aragon.

* Wherewithal: $4.

* Where to call: (714) 458-1506 or (714) 545-5533.