Ha-Kochavim Shel Shlomi

"I wanted her to think I am fair, and pure are my hands, and clear is my mind." (Natan Alterman)

How can it be that people can live lives so intertwined and yet be so oblivious to the obvious? For Shlomi it'sbecause he's far too focused upon others to consider himself, and for the others, they're far too focused on themselves to consider Shlomi.BONJOUR MONSIEUR SHLOMI has been called a "coming of age feature" but sadly, this sub-genre has become so burdened with garbage, it would be a disservice to relegate such a fine film to that wasteland. SHLOMI is a classic "Cinderella" story that is clever, funny, sad, romantic,charming and gets just about everything right. I started this review with some words from one of Israel's greatest poets, Natan Alterman,who's work plays an important role in this film and this line in particular acts as a blueprint for the way director Shemi Zarhin approaches his subject, and the way his subject approaches love. Shlomi is a 17 year old who is flunking most of his high-school classes and is generally considered by all (including his own family) to be intellectually handicapped. In reality, he's a math genius and musical prodigy. Shlomi lives in a dysfunctional family for which he has assumed the role of primary care giver, but despite his role he's almost completely taken for granted. Shlomi is a gifted cook, and this skill is his primary means of expression and the only weapon he possesses against the chaos that constantly threatens to consume his family life. Shlomi is love with the beautiful 17-year-old that lives next door who is also an object of lust for his cocky, spoiled older brother. By itself, the plot could very easily have sunk into a mire of over-sentimentality and hormonal nausea (we've seen this film a hundred times before!) but SHLOMI manages to soar into the sky like the fading eyes of Shlomi's grandfather who lives in the past while pushing his grandson towards the future - a future filled with choices that are his alone. The acting by everyone in this film is convincing, the cinematography crisp, and the music infectious.

"Sometimes from the night we open astonished eyes and slowly we smile, out of our wisdom and folly. Mother's greyness looks at our lives, the silence of rooms where there is no child." (Natan Alterman)