Enemies, a Love Story
Set in 1949 New York, a Holocaust survivor who makes a living as a ghostwriter for a Jewish rabbi, finds himself involved with three women - his current wife, a passionate affair with a married woman, and his long-vanished wife whom he thought was killed during the war and suddenly reappears. The film concentrates on the views of the Jewish survivors, who no longer abide by religious morales and question a God who could let the Holocaust occur.
The film disappointed at the box office against its tight budget of $9.5M, earning $7.8M globally (-18% loss).
Nominated for 3 Oscars. 4 wins & 10 nominations
Plot Structure
Story beats plotted across runtime
Narrative Arc
Emotional journey through the story's key moments
Story Circle
Blueprint 15-beat structure
Arcplot Score Breakdown
Weighted: Precision (70%) + Arc (15%) + Theme (15%)
Enemies, a Love Story (1989) exhibits carefully calibrated narrative architecture, characteristic of Paul Mazursky's storytelling approach. This structural analysis examines how the film's 15-point plot structure maps to proven narrative frameworks across 1 hour and 59 minutes. With an Arcplot score of 7.1, the film balances conventional beats with creative variation.
Characters
Cast & narrative archetypes
Herman Broder
Masha
Yadwiga
Tamara
Rabbi Lembeck
Main Cast & Characters
Herman Broder
Played by Ron Silver
A Holocaust survivor living in Brooklyn who maintains secret relationships with three women simultaneously while working as a ghost writer.
Masha
Played by Lena Olin
Herman's passionate, volatile second wife who also survived the concentration camps and is deeply jealous and emotionally unstable.
Yadwiga
Played by Margaret Sophie Stein
Herman's simple, devoted Polish Catholic peasant wife who hid him during the war and now lives with him in Brooklyn.
Tamara
Played by Anjelica Huston
Herman's first wife whom he believed died in the Holocaust, but who miraculously survived and reappears in New York.
Rabbi Lembeck
Played by Alan King
Herman's employer, a wealthy rabbi for whom Herman ghost-writes religious speeches and sermons.
Structural Analysis
The Status Quo at 2 minutes (2% through the runtime) establishes Herman Broder lies in bed with his wife Yadwiga in their Coney Island apartment, establishing his compartmentalized double life as a ghostwriter living between two worlds - his domestic life and his secret affair.. Structural examination shows that this early placement immediately immerses viewers in the story world.
The inciting incident occurs at 14 minutes when Herman receives a letter from his mother's friend claiming his first wife Tamara, whom he believed murdered in the Holocaust, is alive and in New York. His carefully balanced world of lies begins to destabilize.. At 12% through the film, this Disruption aligns precisely with traditional story structure. This beat shifts the emotional landscape, launching the protagonist into the central conflict.
The First Threshold at 29 minutes marks the transition into Act II, occurring at 24% of the runtime. This indicates the protagonist's commitment to Herman chooses to meet Tamara, his supposedly dead first wife. This active decision to confront his past irrevocably complicates his already tangled web and launches him into escalating chaos., moving from reaction to action.
At 60 minutes, the Midpoint arrives at 50% of the runtime—precisely centered, creating perfect narrative symmetry. Significantly, this crucial beat Herman marries Masha, seemingly resolving one complication, but this false victory actually raises the stakes - he now has two wives and a former wife, all while the lies become impossible to sustain. The absurdity peaks., fundamentally raising what's at risk. The emotional intensity shifts, dividing the narrative into clear before-and-after phases.
The Collapse moment at 88 minutes (74% through) represents the emotional nadir. Here, Masha commits suicide, unable to bear the trauma of her past and the betrayals of the present. The literal death represents the death of Herman's illusion that he can escape his guilt and trauma through compartmentalization and deception., shows the protagonist at their lowest point. This beat's placement in the final quarter sets up the climactic reversal.
The Second Threshold at 96 minutes initiates the final act resolution at 81% of the runtime. Herman realizes he cannot be what any of the women need. He chooses to disappear, abandoning his attempts to create a normal life. He accepts his identity as a ghost, someone who survived but cannot truly live., demonstrating the transformation achieved throughout the journey.
Emotional Journey
Enemies, a Love Story's emotional architecture traces a deliberate progression across 15 carefully calibrated beats.
Narrative Framework
This structural analysis employs systematic plot point analysis that identifies crucial turning points. By mapping Enemies, a Love Story against these established plot points, we can identify how Paul Mazursky utilizes or subverts traditional narrative conventions. The plot point approach reveals not only adherence to structural principles but also creative choices that distinguish Enemies, a Love Story within the comedy genre.
Paul Mazursky's Structural Approach
Among the 5 Paul Mazursky films analyzed on Arcplot, the average structural score is 7.3, reflecting strong command of classical structure. Enemies, a Love Story takes a more unconventional approach compared to the director's typical style. For comparative analysis, explore the complete Paul Mazursky filmography.
Comparative Analysis
Additional comedy films include The Bad Guys, Ella Enchanted and The Evening Star. For more Paul Mazursky analyses, see Down and Out in Beverly Hills, Scenes from a Mall and Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice.
Plot Points by Act
Act I
SetupStatus Quo
Herman Broder lies in bed with his wife Yadwiga in their Coney Island apartment, establishing his compartmentalized double life as a ghostwriter living between two worlds - his domestic life and his secret affair.
Theme
Masha tells Herman "We're all ghosts" - a statement capturing the film's theme about Holocaust survivors living as haunted shells of their former selves, unable to fully embrace life or trust in permanence.
Worldbuilding
Herman's fragmented life is established: his gentle, simple wife Yadwiga who saved him; his work as a ghostwriter for a rabbi; his passionate affair with Masha, another survivor; his constant lies and evasions to maintain his double life in post-war Brooklyn.
Disruption
Herman receives a letter from his mother's friend claiming his first wife Tamara, whom he believed murdered in the Holocaust, is alive and in New York. His carefully balanced world of lies begins to destabilize.
Resistance
Herman struggles with the news about Tamara while juggling Yadwiga and Masha. Masha pressures him to leave Yadwiga and marry her. Herman resists confronting the truth, caught between his past (Tamara), his debt (Yadwiga), and his passion (Masha).
Act II
ConfrontationFirst Threshold
Herman chooses to meet Tamara, his supposedly dead first wife. This active decision to confront his past irrevocably complicates his already tangled web and launches him into escalating chaos.
Mirror World
Herman reunites with Tamara, who represents his pre-war self and the intellectual, cultured life he once had. She embodies the thematic counterpoint: can survivors truly live again, or are they condemned to haunt the ruins of their past?
Premise
The dark comedy of Herman's predicament unfolds as he juggles three women across New York, inventing increasingly elaborate lies. Masha becomes pregnant and demands marriage. Herman divorces Yadwiga in secret and marries Masha while maintaining all three relationships.
Midpoint
Herman marries Masha, seemingly resolving one complication, but this false victory actually raises the stakes - he now has two wives and a former wife, all while the lies become impossible to sustain. The absurdity peaks.
Opposition
The web tightens: Masha miscarries and becomes suicidal; Yadwiga is pregnant with Herman's child; Tamara discovers his marriages to both women; the women begin to meet and compare notes. Herman's carefully constructed lies collapse as all three worlds collide.
Collapse
Masha commits suicide, unable to bear the trauma of her past and the betrayals of the present. The literal death represents the death of Herman's illusion that he can escape his guilt and trauma through compartmentalization and deception.
Crisis
Herman sits shiva for Masha, confronted with the consequences of his choices. He processes his grief and recognizes the impossibility of his situation - unable to truly live, unable to escape his past, unable to commit to any future.
Act III
ResolutionSecond Threshold
Herman realizes he cannot be what any of the women need. He chooses to disappear, abandoning his attempts to create a normal life. He accepts his identity as a ghost, someone who survived but cannot truly live.
Synthesis
Herman vanishes without a trace. The epilogue reveals the aftermath: Tamara and Yadwiga live together, raising Yadwiga's child (Herman's son). The two women form an unlikely family, finding peace where Herman could not.
Transformation
The final image shows Tamara and Yadwiga together with the child, having found a way to live after trauma. In contrast to the opening, this demonstrates that survival and healing are possible - but Herman, trapped in his lies and guilt, remains a ghost.