Rêves d'innocence

This is a Saroyanesque story in which the mother brings up the children in meager style while the father is out looking for his big break. The children have inherited the idea of making their mark in the world, and through most of the movie they can depend on Providence and the kindness of adults to cushion them from the consequences of the impractical side of their visions. The son is played by one Nessim Sisso, an unexceptional young actor who seems to have never made another movie. The daughter is Efrat Aviv, a little girl with mesmerizingly plaintive Bette Davis eyes who can also flash a heartwarming smile. As a grown-up she's still appearing in films. The father is the ubiquitous Moshe Ivgy, who is sort of the Israeli Dustin Hoffman, capable of acting anything but most familiar playing men who enjoy little success or power. The other adult actors are all convincing and help maintain the atmosphere of a slightly memory-misted and idealized small town where evil, although not absent, is at least comfortingly obvious in the person of the witch next door.