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Enemies, a Love Story

Play trailer Poster for Enemies, a Love Story R 1989 1h 59m Comedy Drama Play Trailer Watchlist
Watchlist Tomatometer Popcornmeter
89% Tomatometer 28 Reviews 55% Popcornmeter 1,000+ Ratings
Herman Broder (Ron Silver), a Holocaust survivor living in New York City and struggling with depression after his ordeals in the war, makes his living ghostwriting for a rabbi. Herman is married to Yadwiga (Margaret Sophie Stein) but is also having an affair with Masha (Lena Olin), a married woman. Things grow even more chaotic when Herman's first wife, Tamara (Anjelica Huston), who he thought had died in the war, shows up in New York as well. Based on the novel by Isaac Bashevis Singer.
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Enemies, a Love Story

Enemies, a Love Story

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Critics Consensus

Enemies, a Love Story finds writer-director Paul Mazursky operating near peak form, weaving a richly melodramatic tapestry brought to life by a stellar cast.

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Critics Reviews

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Pauline Kael The New Yorker Sep 12, 2023
The director, Paul Mazursky, has gathered a superbly balanced cast and kept the action so smooth that the viewer is carried along on a tide of mystical slyness. Go to Full Review Mike McGrady Newsday Aug 1, 2021
3.5/4
Loosely constructed and at times enigmatic, but rich in characterization, texture, mood, tone and meaning. Go to Full Review Kathleen Carroll New York Daily News Aug 1, 2021
3/4
It's a brave effort on Mazursky's part; although the movie is too long, it does occasionally achieve an unsettling blend of humor and pathos that the director strove for. Go to Full Review Rene Jordan El Nuevo Herald (Miami) Nov 3, 2022
Enemies is overall a brilliant film, but its brilliance stems from its atmosphere, fotography, and marvelously evocative music. [Full review in Spanish] Go to Full Review Michael Sragow San Francisco Examiner Aug 1, 2021
4/4
The anti-hero of "Enemies, a Love Story" may be smart, smart and stupid; but the movie is smart, smart and smart. Go to Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

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Scott R @ScottR Oct 5, 2025 NYT 1000 movies list. This one shouldn't have been on despite it doing a good job recreating the time period. The overall characters and their motivations did not resonate with their philandering. Saw on tubi. See more steve d @RT35616104 Jul 11, 2020 I found the entire thing uncomfortable. See more uncle p @RT30466687 Feb 14, 2020 Story/Screenplay: (2/5) An odd drama about a bigamist holocaust survivor with an unsympathetic character. Duration/Tempo: (3/5) At 1 hour and 59 minutes, it's an average length movie that feels longer. Needed trimming. Cast & Crew: (3.5/5) Lena Olin and Anjelica Huston were standouts. Summary: (2.5/5) It was difficult to care about the main character (Ron Silver). By extension, caring about the movie became an afterthought. See more Fong Kok Hoong F @RT29722865 Sep 15, 2017 Bolstered by a trinity of enthralling performances as the titular wives of a Holocaust survivor, this film adaptation of Isaac Bashevis Singer's, who won the Nobel Prize for literature in 1978, novel of the same name triumphs as a restrainedly dark and enigmatic love comedy. See more Feb 25, 2015 A delightful romantic affair with great performances from Ron Silver, Anjelica Huston, Judith Malina, Margaret Sophie Stein, and a dynamite performance from Lena Olin that deserved to win an Oscar but only was nominated. It's funny, romantic, and a whole lot of fun. See more Steve S @RT32687682 Nov 20, 2014 ***Due to the recent RT changes that have basically ruined my past reviews, I am mostly only giving a rating rather than a full review.*** See more Read all reviews
Enemies, a Love Story

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Cast & Crew

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Paul Mazursky

Director

Ron Silver

Herman Broder

Anjelica Huston

Tamara Broder

Lena Olin

Masha

Margaret Sophie Stein

Yadwiga

Alan King

Rabbi Lembeck

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Enemies, a Love Story

Enemies, a Love Story (1989) Enemies, a Love Story (1989) Enemies, a Love Story (1989) Enemies, a Love Story (1989) View more photos

Movie Info

Synopsis Herman Broder (Ron Silver), a Holocaust survivor living in New York City and struggling with depression after his ordeals in the war, makes his living ghostwriting for a rabbi. Herman is married to Yadwiga (Margaret Sophie Stein) but is also having an affair with Masha (Lena Olin), a married woman. Things grow even more chaotic when Herman's first wife, Tamara (Anjelica Huston), who he thought had died in the war, shows up in New York as well. Based on the novel by Isaac Bashevis Singer.
Director
Paul Mazursky
Producer
Paul Mazursky
Screenwriter
Paul Mazursky
Distributor
20th Century Fox
Production Co
Morgan Creek Entertainment
Rating
R
Genre
Comedy, Drama
Original Language
English
Release Date (Theaters)
Dec 13, 1989, Original
Release Date (Streaming)
May 13, 2019
Box Office (Gross USA)
$7.8M
Runtime
1h 59m
Sound Mix
Surround
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