Rating: 
Summary: Beautiful Film
Review: A beautiful film, a must-see, even if you have little interest in Jewish culture or history. The title refers not just to the two suitcases that Chaya's father buried but to the baggage all of us carry with us or hope to bury and not deal with again. Chaya (Laura Fraser) takes a job as a nanny for a Chassidic family (wow! Isabella Rossellini is is the image of her mother, Ingrid Bergman)and bonds with 4-year-old Simcha, who cannot -- or will not -- speak. This relationship will change many lives and challenge those involved to deal with their left luggage.
Rating: 
Summary: GRATUITOUSLY PAINFUL
Review: A quick glance at all the reviews of this movie clearly shows the repeated mention of two words: "Haunting" and "Sad". It couldn't get any truer than that. It's about a couple of survivors of the camps. The woman is in denial and keeps herself bustling around her kitchen. The man is looking for a suitcase of lost mementos which he buried in the garden but cannot find because, well, things had been ever so meaningfully "changed forever". Their daughter, Chaja, is an attractive woman in her 20s who wants to forget her bitter Jewish roots by getting involved in student demonstrations, having a romantic interest in a student rebel leader, and living with her gentile friends away from her nagging and eccentric parents. Turmoil happens when she loses her job, and goes to work as a nanny for a "Hassidic" family which claims to be ultra-orthodox (strict dress codes and all). Sad, sad things ensue. Apart from the wooden supporting cast (Chaja's dazed parents and the janitor villain are staid, one-dimensional characters) the movie is pushingly, gratingly, compellingly tragic. Several jabs at anti-semitism are hammered home continually. Which is my gripe. I left the movie with a feeling not of having watched a moving drama, but that of having sat through a lecture on Heritage and Angst. In a shot towards the end, when the father and daughter are hopelessly digging for the lost luggage, one has the impression that no one in the film learned anything about themselves or the past. That seems strange, since I thought that that was in fact what this film was supposed to be about. The prime aim here seems to have been to make the audience cry. And in that, it succeeds, big time. Recommended if you are into melodrama, and have a good stock of Kleenex handy.
Rating:
Summary: GRATUITOUSLY PAINFUL
Review: A quick glance at all the reviews of this movie clearly shows the repeated mention of two words: "Haunting" and "Sad". It couldn't get any truer than that. It's about a couple of survivors of the camps. The woman is in denial and keeps herself bustling around her kitchen. The man is looking for a suitcase of lost mementos which he buried in the garden but cannot find because, well, things had been ever so meaningfully "changed forever". Their daughter, Chaja, is an attractive woman in her 20s who wants to forget her bitter Jewish roots by getting involved in student demonstrations, having a romantic interest in a student rebel leader, and living with her gentile friends away from her nagging and eccentric parents. Turmoil happens when she loses her job, and goes to work as a nanny for a "Hassidic" family which claims to be ultra-orthodox (strict dress codes and all). Sad, sad things ensue. Apart from the wooden supporting cast (Chaja's dazed parents and the janitor villain are staid, one-dimensional characters) the movie is pushingly, gratingly, compellingly tragic. Several jabs at anti-semitism are hammered home continually. Which is my gripe. I left the movie with a feeling not of having watched a moving drama, but that of having sat through a lecture on Heritage and Angst. In a shot towards the end, when the father and daughter are hopelessly digging for the lost luggage, one has the impression that no one in the film learned anything about themselves or the past. That seems strange, since I thought that that was in fact what this film was supposed to be about. The prime aim here seems to have been to make the audience cry. And in that, it succeeds, big time. Recommended if you are into melodrama, and have a good stock of Kleenex handy.
Rating:
Summary: Little Gem of a Movie!
Review: I had never even heard of this movie until this year. I was in the mood to see a Jewish movie...and then did what I always do...I go look for a movie with Maximilian Schell. Interestingly, Max Schell was born Catholic. Yet, he is in every one of my favorite Jewish movies, with the exception of "Fiddler on the Roof". Ah, he once again led me to a wonderful little movie. It is his search that gives the movie its name...he is looking for 2 pieces of luggage he buried in a backyard, before being sent to a concentration camp. His wife was also in a camp. And now in the early 1970's, they deal with their memories in very different ways; he wants to search for his left luggage; she does not want to think about the past at all. The movie, though, is mainly about their daughter, who wants no part of Judaism, until she gets a job as a nanny in an Hasidic family. She was desperate for rent money. Isabella Rossellini, the Hasidic mother, was desperate for help with 5 children. It's a wonderful mix of humor and sadness. And the end was a complete shock to me. (And one review here at Amazon does reveal the ending, so do be careful of your reading, if you don't want to know.) I think it was great performances all around--Max Schell, Marianne Sagebrecht, Isabella Rossellini, Chaim Topol, Jeroen Krabbe, and Laura Fraser, as Chaja--with her British accent! (Yes, it's a wild mix of accents!) If your a duck park lover, the movie will seem especially special. And for me, it was also especially haunting when Chaja is staring at the photo of the Hasidic father's own father and little brother...and sees what she sees...because I believe we all have many lifetimes before we return to God. If you are someone who gets frightened or sick by graphic Holocaust memories or by anti-semitism, this movie is safe for you to view; nothing is graphic or truly frightening. It does have two scenes of nudity, however, which keeps it from being a family movie, unless edited. So, I'm giving it 4 stars instead of 5.
Rating:
Summary: Little Gem of a Movie!
Review: I had never even heard of this movie until this year. I was in the mood to see a Jewish movie...and then did what I always do...I go look for a movie with Maximilian Schell. Interestingly, Max Schell was born Catholic. Yet, he is in every one of my favorite Jewish movies, with the exception of "Fiddler on the Roof". Ah, he once again led me to a wonderful little movie. It is his search that gives the movie its name...he is looking for 2 pieces of luggage he buried in a backyard, before being sent to a concentration camp. His wife was also in a camp. And now in the early 1970's, they deal with their memories in very different ways; he wants to search for his left luggage; she does not want to think about the past at all. The movie, though, is mainly about their daughter, who wants no part of Judaism, until she gets a job as a nanny in an Hasidic family. She was desperate for rent money. Isabella Rossellini, the Hasidic mother, was desperate for help with 5 children. It's a wonderful mix of humor and sadness. And the end was a complete shock to me. (And one review here at Amazon does reveal the ending, so do be careful of your reading, if you don't want to know.) I think it was great performances all around--Max Schell, Marianne Sagebrecht, Isabella Rossellini, Chaim Topol, Jeroen Krabbe, and Laura Fraser, as Chaja--with her British accent! (Yes, it's a wild mix of accents!) If your a duck park lover, the movie will seem especially special. And for me, it was especially haunting when Chaja is staring at the photo of the Hasidic father's murdered little brother...and sees what she sees.
Rating:
Summary: Captivating and Thoughtful, A must must see
Review: I waited a very long time for Left Luggage to come out on VHS and DVD as I had missed it in my local area cinema arts theaters. Was it worth the wait? You bet! Rarely does a movie grab your attention from the start and pull you into it's beauty and morality as this movie has. It is especially intriguing for persons who have any ties to Holocaust rememberances (or desperate means of forgetting) and to the Jews who remained in Europe after the war. The short moral of this movie is about a young girl in Antwerp, Belgium during the 1970's who has no knowledge or regard for her families tragic background. The big picture though unfolds when she spends time with a four year old boy and his ultra orthodox family who show her what she is, who she is, and ultimately the importance of where she came from. Not to be missed!
Rating:
Summary: Nudity not necessary for the film
Review: It was a good film, even if it had a sad ending. BUT, the FULL NUDITY was unnecessary and made it unsuitable for kids/teens and me!
Rating:
Summary: An education and a challenge that encourages an open mind
Review: Left Luggage is the poignant story about a young woman who was born a Jew, but does not think like one. Chaja is the free spirited philosophy student of the 1970's, who refuses to identify herself as a Jew. As Chaja herself remarks, she hates the Jews. But, really, the nature of Chaja's prejudice is based upon her insensitivity to and misunderstanding of the Jewish way of life. As a free spirit, Chaja is not suffering from an identity crisis, and thus, Chaja has no reason to confront her apparent dislike of the Jewish lifestyle. Out of financial necessity, Chaja accepts a nanny position for a Hassidic family. She is immediately drawn to the little boy who will not speak. Despite Chaja's difficulty in adjusting to the rules and beliefs of this orthodox family, she succeeds in overcoming her prejudices against Jewish tradition through her love of the little boy. But what shines throughout this movie is Chaya's uncompromising attitude to remain a free spirit. She lives life fully. Chaya's genuine personality has the tendency to change those around her for the better. Eventually, even the father of the Hassidic family must concede that Chaya's love of the little boy was something worth acknowledging. Left Luggage is a life affirming film. It enhances the notion of what it means to have an 'open mind.'
Rating:
Summary: An education and a challenge that encourages an open mind
Review: Left Luggage is the poignant story about a young woman who was born a Jew, but does not think like one. Chaja is the free spirited philosophy student of the 1970's, who refuses to identify herself as a Jew. As Chaja herself remarks, she hates the Jews. But, really, the nature of Chaja's prejudice is based upon her insensitivity to and misunderstanding of the Jewish way of life. As a free spirit, Chaja is not suffering from an identity crisis, and thus, Chaja has no reason to confront her apparent dislike of the Jewish lifestyle. Out of financial necessity, Chaja accepts a nanny position for a Hassidic family. She is immediately drawn to the little boy who will not speak. Despite Chaja's difficulty in adjusting to the rules and beliefs of this orthodox family, she succeeds in overcoming her prejudices against Jewish tradition through her love of the little boy. But what shines throughout this movie is Chaya's uncompromising attitude to remain a free spirit. She lives life fully. Chaya's genuine personality has the tendency to change those around her for the better. Eventually, even the father of the Hassidic family must concede that Chaya's love of the little boy was something worth acknowledging. Left Luggage is a life affirming film. It enhances the notion of what it means to have an 'open mind.'
Rating:
Summary: Hauntingly Sad
Review: One often wonders why some Jews are so successful. We have so many great scientists, bankers, businessmen, politicians, artists,musicians... who are Jews! Watch this movie and there is a clue. The strict adherence to tradition is awfully hard and their parents' of expectations from and requirements of their offsprings are equally shocking. No wonder some of them, like the main supporting character in this film, would refuse even to talk even when they are already five-- they are made to recite long and incomprehensible scripts at such an early age. Was that the reason why Einstein started to talk only at five? Little wonder that those who passed such hurdles are different. So what is the message in this film? Better get localized, goes drifting along and borne by the air as the heroine in this film, rather than get drowned like the five years old? But the grief and sadness... this film is hauntingly true and bitterly sad. There is a lot of drama and tragedy in it and a lot of weight...
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