Clouds

During the 15th century, a pogrom wiped out the Jewish community of a small German town. Only one Jew survives, the rabbi’s 13-year-old son Huna Ilai. Fleeing to relatives in distant Hanover and dreaming of revenge, Huna Ilai is rescued by Heinz Bartsch, the descendant of a long line of executioners, who becomes his mentor. The Jewish boy and the hangman are forced to join a gang of bandits and become enmeshed in a world of courtly intrigues and religious fanaticism. Ultimately, Huna Ilai fulfils his mission of revenge, but the price is his lady love and his own life.

This dramatic tale of adventure and danger is a sophisticated depiction of medieval Jewish-Christian relations. Tsalka’s gripping recreation of life in 15th century Germany contains with such esoteric details as the training of falcons, how to win a sword fight and the proper way to cast horoscopes.