Every Time We Say Goodbye (1986) Characters, Setting & Themes Explained

The primary setting is Jerusalem, where David recovers in a boarding house and meets Sarah within her close-knit Sephardic family. The film also references North Africa as part of David's wartime service with the RAF and Egypt as part of the couple's travel timeline and hopes for the future.

Foreshadowing: The boarding house serves as a neutral ground where David and Sarah can meet away from the watchful eyes of Sarah's family.

• jerusalem
• setting
• world war 2
• location
• boarding house

The story unfolds during World War II in the early 1940s. David serves with the RAF, and the war's reach shapes the characters' choices and pressures. The wartime context adds urgency to travel and amplifies the stakes of romance and family duty.

Foreshadowing: David's military service as an RAF pilot establishes the temporal context from the opening scenes.

• world war 2
• 1940s
• era
• time period
• RAF
• military

David and Sarah are drawn to each other despite the barriers of religion and culture. As a Protestant American pilot and a Sephardic Jewish woman, their growing bond challenges the expectations of family, community, and social norms. Their relationship must contend with secrecy, disapproval, and the risk of disrupting several intertwined lives.

Foreshadowing: From their first meeting, the cultural and religious divide between David and Sarah creates immediate tension with Sarah's family.

• forbidden love
• religion
• prejudice
• culture
• Sephardic
• Jewish

David's duty as an airman and as the son of a minister shapes his decisions and restraint. War-era obligations pull him away from personal happiness and force difficult choices. The tension between professional duty and personal longing highlights the cost of allegiance during wartime.

Foreshadowing: David's role as an RAF pilot immediately establishes the conflict between his military obligations and his growing feelings for Sarah.

• duty
• military
• responsibility
• minister son
• sacrifice
• war

Sarah's Sephardic family anchors the social world of the story, with tradition guiding marriage and family honor. That tradition exerts pressure on Sarah's autonomy and her ability to choose freely. Even as love blossoms, communal expectations dictate caution and restraint, creating constant tension between her heart and her duty to family.

Foreshadowing: Sarah's cousin Victoria represents the family's pragmatic, tradition-centered pressure, arranging alibis while also enforcing social expectations.

• Sephardic
• family
• tradition
• marriage
• honor
• Jewish
• pressure

David Bradley is an American pilot serving with the RAF who becomes a covert ally and romantic figure within the Jerusalem community. He is courteous, brave, and careful, often balancing duty with a rising, complicated affection for Sarah. His gentile background and role as a minister's son add tension with Sarah's Sephardic relatives, shaping his decisions and sense of responsibility.

Foreshadowing: David's position as a minister's son foreshadows the religious tension that will complicate his relationship with Sarah's family.

• David Bradley
• Tom Hanks
• pilot
• RAF
• American
• minister son

Sarah Perrara is a serene Sephardic Jewish woman caught between love and family duty. She feels a strong connection to David but struggles with cultural expectations that threaten her future. Her evolving feelings are tempered by familial obligations and the social norms of her community, creating an ongoing internal conflict.

Foreshadowing: Sarah's initial composure masks the deeper conflict between her personal desires and her family's expectations.

• Sarah Perrara
• character
• Sephardic
• Jewish
• love
• family duty

Victoria is Sarah's cousin who helps arrange an alibi and participates in the wedding plans, representing pragmatic, family-centered pressure. Nessim is a relative who carries unspoken love for Sarah yet supports her happiness. Peter is Sarah's RAF boyfriend and Victoria's fiancé, whose wedding plans anchor the events and highlight the conflicts between personal desires and societal expectations.

Foreshadowing: Peter's presence as Sarah's RAF boyfriend creates initial obstacles before David's arrival.

• Victoria
• Nessim
• Peter
• cousin
• relative
• supporting characters

The film has a bittersweet tone, as the central love story is consistently shadowed by external obstacles including war and family disapproval. The pacing remains steady, focusing on emotional encounters rather than action. A palpable sense of longing contributes to a sadness score of 7, while the romance remains the absolute core of the story with a score of 9.

Foreshadowing: The opening scenes establish the wartime tension that will constantly threaten the couple's ability to be together.

• tone
• mood
• bittersweet
• romance
• war
• emotional
• pacing