Broken Wings

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...

"Broken Wings (Knafayim Shvurot)" is a frank, involving portrait of a family coping with grief and stress.

Even more than such films as "Ordinary People," debut writer/director Nir Bergman has a sure touch in showing us the pressures and responses of a full range of individual family members, from the depressed working mother to her children -- five year old daughter, ten year old son, and and their teen brother and sister.

Within very realistic crowded and complicated living, working, school, and peer friendship environments, we see each as distinct individuals with guilts, needs, issues, and talents, and as the dependent members of a family unit dealing with past and present pain and crises, including through music.

I don't know the technicalities of the film stock, but the grittiness of the cinematography contributes to the naturalism, as well as the un-Hollywood, un-pretty look of the actors.

As an Israeli film what also adds to how touching it is is its non-political, non-geographically-necessary-specific content. This is just a beautiful human story of love and responsibility.

While the opening credits are bilingual Hebrew and English, the closing credits, annoyingly, are not.

"Broken Wings" is a poignant, slice-of-life drama about an Israeli family's coming to terms with the death of their father nine months earlier. The widow, Dafna, is a 43 year-old mother of four who works endless hours as a midwife at the local hospital, both to earn money to support her family as well as to avoid having to face the reality of the tragic loss she has suffered. For while she is a loving, devoted mother, she seems unable to provide the guidance and solace her children need in this time of incomprehensible grief and suffering. Thus, the children are left to cope more or less on their own as best they can - and this on top of all the problems young people face just doing the ordinary, day-to-day business of growing up. Her oldest son, Yair, has responded to his father's death by dropping out of high school and adopting a fatalistic philosophy, declaring that life is nothing more than a series of random events that mean nothing against the backdrop of an immensely vast, impersonal universe. The oldest daughter, 17 year-old Maya, has hopes of becoming a successful rock musician, but finds herself having to carry the burden of raising the two younger children while their absent mother spends most of her waking hours at work. The two youngsters, Ido and Bahr, cope with the loss of their father and the inadvertent neglect from their overworked mother in various and heartbreaking ways. The narrative is paced in such a way that we learn about the life of this family only through bits and pieces of carefully revealed information, with each scene exposing more and more about the people and their situation until ultimately a full picture emerges. In fact, it is a good half hour at least before we even know that the father is dead.

The movie takes a very low-keyed approach to its subject matter, showing, in an understated fashion, the devastating effect the death of a parent can have on a family unit. The film is filled with lovely little moments of humor, warmth and insight that draw us deeply into the drama. We see how each of the various characters responds to the situation and to each other, watching as the feelings of guilt, resentment and recrimination bubble to the surface. As a second crisis hits the family, a whole host of long-dormant feelings and emotions finally break out in open conflict. Yet, as with a wound that needs to be cauterized before it can heal, this second trauma proves to be the rupture the family needs to begin its process of recovery. The amazing thing is that writer/director Nir Bergman is able to do all this in an economical 82-minute running time. Yet, even with that limited length, the filmmaker captures the texture of the family members' daily lives through an impressive array of sharply drawn subsidiary characters who play an integral part in the central drama.

Bergman has also been blessed with first-rate actors in the primary roles. Orly Silbersatz Banai as Dafna, Maya Maron as Maya, and Nitai Gaviratz as Yair deliver, beautifully realistic, heartfelt performances. The other cast members are all excellent as well.

"Broken Wings" is a small, overlooked gem that gets to the heart of what it means to be a family. It would be a shame for anyone to miss it.

Maya is a teenager who has hopes of someday having a better life through her singing. However, on the night of her first gig she is called home to look after her young brother and sister while her mother goes to a night-shift at the hospital. This is the pattern of Maya's life since her father died about 9 months before – her mother Dafna never seems to be around, her elder brother seems to be on a downward spiral of depression while the youngest children seem adrift and distant.

Whenever I sit down to watch a film that comes from Israel, it is tempting to assume that the film will deal with or at least touch on the troubles there. That was the case with this film and I was pleasantly surprised that this was actually a drama about teenage relationships and difficulties. The plot focuses on Maya but draws in the other characters into a story that is rather low-key and small but manages to be involving and rather moving. It's not perfect of course and some viewers may find it's pace a little slow and the insular nature of the drama to be a little folded in on itself (especially if you expected the wider conflicts to be drawn into it in some way). As a teenage drama this is rather touching and is an enjoyable little drama that is based on a well written script.

The performances are also very good and there aren't really any weak links in this regard. Maron is well cast and her Maya is interesting and sympathetic. Banar has a more difficult role but does it well and keeps the audience with her. Gaviratz is good even if his character is the most difficult to get to know; the younger children are also good and rise above the usual cute performances that Hollywood seems to draw from kids on a regular basis. The film paints a small family drama on a little canvas and the good cast are a major part of producing a story that really engages.

Overall this is an enjoyable little family drama that is quite involving and quite touching. The characters are well written and well delivered by a roundly good cast. Short and bittersweet and well worth a watch if you can find it – everywhere in the world there are families and teenagers and everywhere in the world they have conflict.

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.