One boy. Two worlds. A time to choose.

The overemphatic acting of Robby Benson was something of an endurance test to certain critics of the 1980s, but even these carpers were impressed by Benson's outstanding performance in The Chosen. Set in the Brooklyn of the 1940s, the film elucidates the friendship between two young Jews of differing factions. Benson is Hassidic, while Barry Miller is a Zionist. Though separated ideologically, the boys find a common bond through their love of stickball. Rod Steiger costars as Benson's rabbi father, delivering a performance virtually devoid of the mannered stridency that has marred many of his more recent film work. Based on a novel by Chaim Potok, The Chosen has become an annual Hannukah-season TV attraction in many cities; years after its release, the film served as the basis for a short-lived Broadway musical

The film takes place in Brooklyn near the conclusion of the Second World War. Reuven Malter is a middleclass modern orthodox Jewish teenager, and the son of a dedicated Zionist. At a pickup baseball game, Reuven meets Danny Saunders, another Jewish teenage boy, who is the son of a strict Hasidic Rebbe. At first, the meeting is one of enmity. However, both boys go on to form an unlikely friendship. Their complicated friendship is strained by historical events such as the Holocaust and the creation of the State of Israel. In addition, their lives and their decisions about their futures add to their personal drama.[2][3]

The Chosen was well received by most critics and holds an 82% rating for the Rotten Tomatoes websit

Release Date: April 30, 1982

Distrib: Analysis Films ; later 2oth Century Fox Int'l Classics