Israel, 2002
Director: Nir Bergman
Score: ***

After the loss of a much loved father, a family spins into turmoil.  It is 9 months after the event, and mother Dafna (Orli Zilverschatz-Banay) has still not got over the death.  She balances her mid-wife job at the hospital with the raising of her 4 children, each given equal screen time by first time feature director Nir Bergman.  How they cope and interact forms the basis of this new intriguing Israeli film, BROKEN WINGS that has gone to win 9 Israeli film awards and the Grand Prix at the Tokyo film festival.

Bergman treats each of the 4 children with equal respect and tenderness.  The scene in the counseling room where the elder son argues with the well-meaning social worker is skillfully portrayed, displaying both sides eager and well-intentioned for progress but hindered by different values each has not control over.  The confrontation scene between mother and daughter is also expertly handled, with both views given, so that the viewer does not take sides.  The tears that flow from the daughter, Maya’s (Maya Maron) face, shown from a distant with her back towards the camera are effective.  As events unfold, Bergman slowly lets out how the father has dies, as a result of a freak accident which Maya feels guilty for.

BROKEN WINGS is an intelligent, and compelling watchable film, brimming with emotions and color.  The family members undergo the same problems western families undergo.  It is a universal theme – the need for more money, the attraction of leaving a hometown for a bigger city (in this case Tel Aviv) and the coping of budding hormones.  Even mother meets a new man.  Berman (who also wrote the script) blends these elements subtly with human family drama.

Bergman never resolves to clichéd endings.  He leaves his conclusions open.  At the end of the film, the boy is still in the coma while Dafna has not got together with her new suitor.  The problems faced by the family are only solved partly, but Bergman shows it is a step towards the right direction in pretty much the same way that he shows promise as a future director to watch.

Review by Gilbert Seah