Movie Review: The Jeweller's Shop (1988)

The Jeweller's Shop (1988) directed by Michael Anderson based on the book by John Paul II

This intergenerational story starts in Poland 1939 as young people head off on a mountain hike. Friends Andre (Andrea Occhipinti) and Stephane (Ben Cross) are taken with Therese (Olivia Hussey) and Anna (Jo Champa). The two couples are interested in marriage but face the looming prospect of World War II. Stephane and Anna move to Canada where he can finish his medical studies and start their married life. Andre and Therese stay in Poland, visiting the titular shop kept by an enigmatic and wise jeweller (Burt Lancaster) who sells them wedding rings and gives them advice on their future lives. Andre dies in the war. Therese is pregnant. She moves to Canada after the war to build a new life as a piano teacher. The children of the two couples grow up and become enamored of each other. The 1960s are a very different time and they face hard challenges as they consider getting married.

The story is an interesting melodrama and has a lot to say about marriage and marital happiness. Stephane and Anna struggle as their family grows, drifting apart from each other even as they work hard to provide a home to their children. Their daughter is worried that all marriages are like her parents' marriage and does not want to go down a road to unhappiness with Therese's son. He struggles without a clear example of what it means to be a man and a husband, that is, without his father's presence. These genuine, real world problems are viewed through the lens of John Paul II's theological musings on the family (the book was written before he became pope), showing an understanding that acknowledges the hard work needed for marriage and the greater beauty that can be found in a healthy, fruitful marriage. No marriage is ideal and no marriage is doomed to misery. But marriage is important and must be taken seriously. The view is refreshing and hopeful.

Recommended.