Joshua Then and Now (film)

Joshua Then and Now
Joshua Then and Now
Directed by	Ted Kotcheff
Produced by	Robert Lantos Stephen J. Roth
Screenplay by	Mordecai Richler
Based on	Joshua Then and Now by Mordecai Richler
Starring	James Woods Gabrielle Lazure Michael Sarrazin Linda Sorenson Alan Arkin Alan Scarfe Ken Campbell Alexander Knox Chuck Shamata Kate Trotter Robert Joy Harvey Atkin Paul Hecht Eric Kimmel
Music by	Philippe Sarde
Cinematography	François Protat
Edited by	Ron Wisman
Production company	RSL Entertainment Corporation
Distributed by	20th Century Fox
Release date	May 17,1985 (Canada/U.S. release)
Running time	118 minutes
Country	Canada
Language	English
Budget	$11 million
Box office	$542,420

Joshua Then and Now is a 1985 film and a TV mini-series, adapted by Mordecai Richler from his semi-autobiographical novel Joshua Then and Now. James Woods starred as the adult Joshua, Gabrielle Lazure as his wife, and Alan Arkin as Joshua's father. It was directed by Ted Kotcheff who had previously directed Richler's The Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz.

The film depicts Joshua growing up in his Montreal neighborhood, and then his adventures as a modestly successful writer. He marries the "golden shiksa" of his dreams, but eventually everything around him crumbles and he must act quickly to recover it all. A comedic drama, the film moves quickly without lingering for long on any incident and tells a connected complete narrative. Alan Arkin is frequently noted in reviews for an outstanding performance.

The cast included Michael Sarrazin as Kevin Hornby (Pauline's brother), Robert Joy as Colin Fraser (Pauline's first husband), Linda Sorenson as Esther Shapiro (Joshua's mother), Alan Scarfe as Jack Trimble, Ken Campbell as Sidney Murdoch, Kate Trotter as Jane Trimble, Alexander Knox as Senator Hornby, and Eric Kimmel as young Joshua. Filmed on location in Montreal, London, Brockville, and Ottawa. Rated R. It has been transcribed to VHS (1986) and DVD-R (2016).

Joshua Shapiro, successful writer and pundit, in a hospital room, seems to have lost his wife and is in the middle of a sex scandal. Compelled to find meaning in his life, he reviews it from his youth to the present day.

Joshua grew up as a Jew in the working class St. Urbain Street area in Montreal. His upbringing was unusual because his father was a boxer who had become a gentle crook and his mother was a strip-tease dancer. Embarrassingly, she strips for his friends as part of a Bar Mitzvah party for him. Joshua's father is revealed to have a unique perspective on life, sex, and religion.