... One of the things that is so lovely about Potter’s work here (she wrote and directed) is that she tells her story on the huge canvas of the Russian pogroms and, later, the Nazi move across Europe.  Yet, the film remains an intimate look at people.  It’s never dogmatic.  It’s never cheap.  Ricci’s character is a jewess whose father leaves their village for America, planning to send for her and her grandmother later.   But Ricci is sent away to England as her grandmother anticipates the danger that surrounds them.  All she has is a gold coin and a photo of her father.  Eventually, her gift for singing is discovered.  As a grown-up, she enters show biz, hoping to earn enough to travel to America to find her father...