Fiddler on the Roof
Acceptable with guidance. Age: 10+. A Catholic review of this movie for parents.
Our review
Tevye is a poor Jewish milkman with five daughters. Each daughter wants to marry in a new way, and he must decide how much to bend. At the end, the soldiers make the whole village leave their homes. This is a great musical about faith, family and a father's heart. It honors tradition, marriage and a people's endurance under persecution, but it needs a parent to talk through Chava's elopement and Tevye's choice to disown her. The one age is 10, set by Common Sense Media's 10+. Expect a violent raid on a wedding, soldiers forcing families out, and some drinking.
For parents
Best for ages 10 and up. Common Sense Media's 10+ sets the age; no Catholic classification was found. Tevye's love for God and family is real, and the film is a good doorway into the Jewish roots of our faith. Talk about marriage: why parents' blessing matters, and why Chava's secret elopement hurt her family. Then ask whether Tevye was right to treat his daughter as dead. Ask: when is tradition a gift, and when do we hold it too tightly? How should a family love someone who has made a hard choice? Pray for all who are driven from their homes.