Avalon

Barry Levinson, best known as the Oscar-winning director of "Rain Man" (as well as "Good Morning, Vietnam," "The Natural" and "Young Sherlock Holmes"), has occasionally returned to his hometown of Baltimore to conjure up nostalgia for smaller, more personal films, writing and directing "Diner" and "Tin Men."

But his latest work, "Avalon," is by far his most personal and accomplished feature to date.

Named after the neighborhood in Baltimore where Levinson grew up, "Avalon" is the story of several generations in one family, taking it forward some 50 years from 1914, when the family patriarch leaves Eastern Europe and first steps foot on American soil.

He is Sam Krichinsky (Armin Mueller-Stahl), a proud man with old-world values, and over the years to come he will see the world — and his family — change profoundly, and not always for the better.

The film opens with Sam reminiscing about his first day in America, regaling the family with stories they've already heard a hundred times, as his wife Eva (Joan Plowright) reminds him. But Sam feels it's important for the youngsters to know about their heritage, so he will repeat the stories many more times before the film is over.

What follows is a series of vignettes that chronicle the family's evolution as Americans, from Thanksgiving dinners with the same old arguments about whether the family should wait for Sam's older brother Gabriel (Lou Jacobi) before carving the turkey to the rise of Sam's son Jules (Aidan Quinn), who changes his name and becomes a prominent department store owner in the city.

Then, about halfway through the film the tone starts to change and it becomes apparent Levinson has larger ambitions in mind. What we begin to see is the gradual disintegration of the nuclear family, which Levinson blames in part on a technological villain — television.

But Levinson knows it's a two-sided coin and he shows that though TV comes into the home and takes the family away from the dinner table, it also helps Jules make his fortune.

Later, there's a move to the suburbs, which physically divides the family and eventually leads to an emotional separation as well.

Levinson's finish is a hard-hitting smack at the way we treat our elderly, the respect that was once taken for granted seeming to have fallen by the wayside.

"Avalon" is a remarkable film, a thought-provoking Cook's tour through the universal American consciousness. Among the many characters in this huge ensemble cast are the uncles, aunts, cousins and grandparents we all have or remember, participating in setpieces that will be recognizable to every member of the audience.