Eva (Lila Kedrova) and David (Melvyn Douglas) came to the USA from Russia when they were young to escape the pogrames. They established their lives here and raised a family but Eva spent a lifetime reflecting on the past when she and David (played by Nora Heflin and Peter Coyote) were young, what had happened to them, and the consolation she'd found in books.
Now, as an elderly couple, they differ on what they want for the future. David can't maintain their big family home any longer and wants to move to a community for retired members of his union where he'll have many friends and activities. But Eva wants nothing more than the familiarity of the home where they raised their children and her own desired isolation from others.
When Eva is diagnosed with a terminal illness, David decides they should go to visit their children and grandchildren -- but secretly he hopes their family home will sell while they are away, even though Eva knows nothing of his plans.
They end up in San Francisco living in a small apartment in the Latino district with their granddaughter Jeannie (Brooke Adams), a nurse who is particularly sensitive to the needs of both her Nana and Papa and who tries to help them through this life transition.
Lili Valenty appears as Mrs. Mays, a former Detroit neighbor of Eva and David's who now lives alone in a room with shared bathroom in a hovel of an apartment building near Jeannie's.
Lovingly directed by Lee Grant. Based on Tillie Olsen's O.Henry award-winning novella.My personal rating: B
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