Knafayim Shvurot

This film was a surprise. Israel's film industry is doing just fine, and judging by some of the latest movies that we have seen from that country, they have a very promising future.

Director Nir Bergman knows a thing or two about how to reach an audience. The story that he presents here is one about the tremendous pain this family is going through after the beloved father dies in a freakish manner, leaving behind a wife and four children that without him are at the breaking point.

Dafna, the mother, is sleepwalking through life; she appears to be sleepy most of the time. Having to work odd hours, she is losing the grip of things at home. Maya, the oldest daughter, is the logical choice for Dafna to rely on, but this teen ager feels her life is being torn between the family loyalty and her own singing ambition. The older son, Yair, also is facing very hard times adapting to a life that is uncertain, at best. The other two children are just plain lost because everyone else is absorbed in his own conflict.

The acting is first rate. Dafna, played with conviction by Orly Silbersatz Banai, is excellent as the over burdened mother. Maya Maron is the rebellious Maya, basically the central role of the story. Miss Maron plays convincingly. The rest of the cast is very good.

We can expect other fine films from Mr. Bergman in the future, I'm sure.

There seems to be a whole genre of films recently ,the theme of which is young people's daunting search for purpose in life in a world where external sources of values are no longer accepted. I am thinking of "Garden State," "I Heart Huckabees," "Closer " etc. The consensus, so to speak, if these movies are to be taken as a mirror of reality, is that there is no purpose to be found, and the only grounds for relating to other human beings at all is sexual attraction, or its concomitant sexual competition. In fact, I watched this film and "Thirteen" together, and found them strangely parallel. I mention all this because Knafayim Shvurot is different from all the others in a small but fundamental respect: here the characters have not quite given up the search. Perhaps this reflects a difference between Israeli culture which, jaded though it is, is indisputably younger, and American culture which seems to be declining into both hedonism and vicious religiosity. I didn't realize it while I was watching, but was somehow not surprised to notice afterward that the "family" of characters is played by a real-life family. I couldn't help wondering how the experience affected them...

I fell in love with the trailer every time I heard the singing, and smiled at the video recording segment where Dafna was told not to say she's 43 with 4 kids but say 39, and ended up saying she has 39 kids. I was most eager when I finally get to see "Broken Wings." It was a filmic experience full of human, family emotions - those ever anguish-ridden teen growing pains (conflicts and raptures) - I was quite pleased, tear-jerker and all.

Broken Wings, aka K'Nafayim Shvurot (2002), a film from Israel in Hebrew with subtitles, is the debut feature of writer-director Nir Bergman. It may seem like yet another movie about teens, mother and kids in a struggling household - somehow there's a different tone and humanity level that's most warm and welcoming in feeling. Good story, thoughtful plot with trying crisis, and heartfelt performances all round. And the music - especially the song Maya sings, the lyrics and the guitar rhythm I really felt akin to.

It's a close-knit family - it shows: the dialog between mother and daughter, the interactions among teen sister and brother, elder brother and youngest sister, brother to brother, mother to sons - there's a lot going on and not without sprinkles of humor (and playfulness) injected in between. It's a poignant script Bergman delivered. And what a cast - each of the family members was portrayed with such nuance. Orli Zilverschatz-Banay is Dafna the mother, a central tour de force. Equally matched is the strong performance by Maya Maron as the daughter, whose sadness and bottled-up self-blame became a huge chip on her shoulder - struggling with her musical talent (composing and singing) and trying to be vulnerably strong ('I can take care of myself' persona) as a responsible daughter/sister/student/band member - life without Dad is so tough, or is it? Mother doesn't care, doesn't have time to love me, is it so? Ido, the younger son, reminds me of Edward Yang's "Yi Yi" - also a young boy on his own while the grown-ups and siblings exist in a different world. Daniel Magon plays Ido and Eliana Magon as the little sister Bahr - the pair had a street crossing scene with just as much tension felt watching their performances together. Nitai Gvirtz portrayed teen brother Yair, who's a character unto himself. Vladimir Friedman is Dr. Valentin, in the tension relieving role of Dafna's colleague, provided breather and smiles to the audience as well as the strung-out working mother of four.

Nir Bergman took the time to show us the different character developments - not shying away from confronting situations or gutsy parental-teenage tensions. "Broken Wings" depicts how a family unit copes with grief and how crisis unites, coming through with strength and renewed understanding. It's a worthy family drama. We're fortunate to have effective subtitles by Suzy de Lowe. Bravo to Sony Pictures Classics for the steady support in distributing gems of small independent foreign films.

An observation: the cause of death was given in a low key manner - nothing political about it as it seems to be a possible natural happening. Hence the central energy is more focused on the mother and daughter relationship - such wisdom in plot progression choices. If you're interested in a film that has a bit more political tone, try the Palestinian film by writer-director Elia Suleiman, "Divine Intervention" (2002) aka Yadon Ilaheyya, in Arabic and Hebrew with English subtitles - it's quietly political, pathos with poetic tenderness.

"Blackbird singing in the dead of night. Take these broken wings and learn to fly. All your life, you were only waiting for this moment to arise." - Paul McCartney

The trauma that accompanies the sudden loss of a beloved family member is being repeated all over the Middle East today in both Israeli and Palestinian homes. Behind the headlines, however, is the human tragedy, the stories we never read about. This story is told metaphorically in Nir Bergman's brilliant first effort Broken Wings. It is not an overtly political film, but the implications are clear. Set in the Israeli port city of Haifa, it depicts the effect of the loss of the family's patriarch on each member of the Ulman family, perhaps suggesting the emotional state of Israel since the murder of Yitzhak Rabin. The 83-minute film won accolades at the Berlin International Film Festival and has been a huge critical and commercial success in Israel, winning nine Israeli Academy Awards in 2003.

Beautifully expressive Maya Maron in her first feature role is an Israeli teenage singer-songwriter (also named Maya) who dreams of becoming a rock star and wears wings when she sings in her local band. As the film opens, Maya is singing a song she wrote in memory of her father who died suddenly nine months ago, for reasons not disclosed until the end of the film. Her song is interrupted when her mother Dafna (stage actress Orly Zilberschatz-Banai), a nurse, phones and tells her that she has been called to work on the night shift at the local hospital and needs Maya home to take care of brother Ido (Daniel Magon) and sister Bahr (Eliana Magon). Maya emphatically refuses then relents but the tension between mother and daughter is palpable. Maya, who was with her father when he died, does not fully grasp the guilt behind her bottled-up rage and takes out her anger on her mother who is both irritating and sympathetic as she labors wearily to keep the family from a collision course.

We learn that each family member is suffering the father's loss in his or her own way. Dafna stayed in bed for three months leaving the children to do the parenting and the results are reflected in their erratic behavior. Six-year old Bahr wets her bed and Ido carries out a strange ritual of filming himself while jumping into an empty pool. The oldest brother Yair (Nitai Gaviratz), also a teenager, has been suspended from school and hands out leaflets on commuter trains dressed in a mouse costume while expressing a nihilistic philosophy to anyone who will listen. His inability to respond to the words father, fear, and anger during a word association test prompts his school counselor to deny him re-admittance until he receives treatment, but he does not help his cause when he tells the counselor "Your words are meaningless. This conversation does not exist and you don't exist."

Yair tells Maya that "things could be worse", and they do get worse before they get better. In fact, the catalyst for redemption comes in a life-threatening accident that allows the family to regroup, take responsibility for their lives, and begin the process of healing. Broken Wings sounds depressing but in the hands of the skillful direction of Mr. Bergman its sadness is balanced with humor and the strength and dignity of its characters. The film does not break any new ground but displays the kind of insight that allows us to learn something new about ourselves. Though rooted in reality, Broken Wings has a heart that leaps and a soul that soars and is a film that I truly loved.

One of the best Israeli films ever. Israel had good actors, and good drama but never before have I seen such a well developed script. I guess the secret belongs to the fact that the movie started as a short film when Nir Bergman studied cinema, and then he developed it to a full length movie. Moreover, this movie is one of the representatives of the new Israeli movie age, after understanding Israel cannot produce big budget American style movies, and started producing small touching movies.

The story in a nutshell is about a single mom with four kids, trying to overcome the loss of their father. The movie time quota is within one week, so everything happens very fast, and sometimes it feels like someone is hitting you with a hammer in the stomach. other times it feels like someone is squeezing you for tears. Generally speaking the movie sure is an emotional roller coaster.

The movie follows the story of the rebellious daughter who is torn between her will to be a singer and her family duties because her mom is working night shifts as a nurse. It also follows the enigmatic closed son who had to be the strong man of the family because of the death of the father, and the effect the death had on his personality, emotions, and his functioning in school. Last but not least is the small child who has some kind of an accident during the film, which makes everything move even faster and more emotional.

The actors (especially Maya Meron, but that's because I'm a fool for her) are doing a great acting job and are very moving and realistic.

All in all, this is a great movie, highly recommended.