THE TALE OF NICOLAI & THE LAW OF RETURN

“Once upon a time …”; and so the story begins. The factory in a small Romanian town closes down, and many who worked there are left feeling helpless, among them Nicolai, the hero of our story. Like many of the local unemployed, he goes out into the world to seek work. To Israel, in Nicolai’s case, where the employment issue proves more tricky than he anticipated. He gets hired soon enough, but the company in question is a dubious operation that confiscates both his passport and a large part of his salary. At the same time, he feels increasingly alienated from his family back home: his youngest son no longer recognizes his voice, each phone call with his wife Rodica is bleaker and sadder than the last. After Nicolai starts working illegally, he is arrested and finally deported. His wife meanwhile starts searching for documents that prove Nicolai to be of Jewish descent: once officially recognized as a Jew, he would be able to use the “law of return” and work legally in Israel. But the official channels, like those elsewhere, are slow, painfully slow … THE TALE OF NICOLAI & THE LAW OF RETURN is a staged documentary film. The roles of Nicolai, his wife Rodica and several other characters are played by their real-life counterparts, and the tale of Nicolai is likewise true. Amusing, ironic, and almost fairytale-like.