Golden Voices | Summer Film Series

The “coming-of-age” film genre usually sets its sights on adolescents finding their way in the adult world. Golden Voices, a 2019 Israeli dramatic comedy, turns the genre on its head by focusing on a couple in their sixties. And this New York Times-recommended, film festival favorite is as charming, sweet, and poignant as that sounds.

A New Home

Golden Voices follows Raya (Mariya Belkin) and Victor (Vladimir Friedman) — a couple who have built their life together as the Soviet Union’s most beloved voice actors. With the Soviet empire dissolving, Raya and Victor flee to Israel, and must rebuild their lives from scratch.

As the two find employment in their new home—Raya as a phone-sex operator (a fact she attempts to hide from her husband), and Victor as a Russian dubber for illegally pirated films — they slowly begin to diverge in how they perceive their careers, life choices, and one another. On the one hand, Raya gains confidence from her new occupation, seeking to stop “parroting” or repeating others’ words.

Conversely, Victor struggles to find himself. Victor also takes on a pseudo-director role within the couple’s life, as the audience sees in the first scene as he coaches and frames Raya in a perfect photo when the two step off the airplane in Israel. Victor’s directorial attitude bleeds into other decisions in the pair’s lives, both big and small, like his refusal to dance with his wife and, as Raya later laments, like “their” choice regarding not having children.

The film shines with authenticity throughout, which invites audiences to create a bond with the couple as they find their way in their new world — and that does not seem to be a coincidence. Director Evgeny Ruman, who also co-wrote this original script, is himself an immigrant of Soviet background, as are leading actors Belkin and Friedman.

"Winning comedy-drama"

Belkin’s performance as the self-discovering Raya in particular is a revelation. As Raya attempts to realize her new life and distinct identity from both vocal dubbing and from her husband, the Russian-born Belkin brings an understated emotional core and authenticity to the role and to the film.

As Gary Goldstein writes in his Los Angeles Times review, “this evocative tale is worth experiencing for Belkin’s lovely, lived-in turn as a woman of a certain age trying to find her place in a world not of her making.” Glenn Kenny from The New York Times concurs in his review of this “winning comedy-drama,” noting both “Friedman and Belkin are dead-on credible at every turn.”

Another boon for cinema lovers is the film’s obvious respect for the predecessors that came before it. Whether in the relationship-turning moments tied to the couple’s work on Fellini movies, or the occasional ode to films ranging from The Princess Bride to Kramer Vs. Kramer — Golden Voices is as much a treat for cinephiles as it is a comedic tale about the oddities of love, immigration, and graceful aging.