The story describes the chance meeting and eventual friendship between two teenage boys in 1940's Brooklyn. Although both Jewish, they come from entirely different backgrounds. Reuven is the son of Prof. David Malter, a teacher who does critical study of Talmud. Danny is the son of Reb Isaac Saunders, the rebbe of a small Chasidic community that lives nearby. The Saunders live in a kind of Eastern European bubble, while the Malters have assimilated into American society. Beyond the wonderful realism of the friendship, the film is one of the few to seriously depict Orthodox Jewish life, from a typical Shabbat to a Chasidic wedding, without ever degenerating into stereotypes. The story also touches on major events in the Jewish world like the Holocaust and the creation of the State of Israel.

Morey Altman's Essential Jewish Film List