Eva and David are an elderly, bitter Jewish emigre couple who raised children in poverty in the Midwestern United States. When David is told Eva is dying of cancer and must not know, he takes her on a journey to visit their children across the United States. In San Francisco, Eva draws inspiration from their exuberant granddaughter Jeannie, who lives life to the fullest despite any stumbling blocks it may toss in her path. To her she reveals the secrets of her soul and shares with her clippings and photos of the literary and philosophical greats –
Walt Whitman and
Émile Zola among them – who have sustained her in her bleak moments and offered her promise of a better life. As Eva comes to terms with her past, and David relives their years as revolutionaries, she and David manage to recapture the love they felt for each other early in their marriage. The film was revolutionary in its creation and subsequent cultural impact. It was the first feature film in America to be written, produced and directed by women; the first women's film to raise more than $1 million and to receive major studio distribution, and it was the first woman-created film to screen during the
Cannes Film Festival's "Directors' Fortnight". The film won Best Picture and Best Actor at the
Edinburgh Film Festival and Best Actress Award at the
Taormina Film Fest in Italy. ==Principal cast==