Have just seen the European Premier of this film at the Berlin Film Festival where it deservedly won 1st prize in the 'Generation14k Plus' Section.
The story is set in a Kibbutz in Israel where 12 year old Dvir (Tomer Steinhof in his debut movie) faces many trials as he is entering his bar mitzvah year. The most difficult one is coping with his mother Miri whom he loves above all else. She lives in a very fragile mental state and Dvir knows he must protect her from herself. A romance with a newly arrived Swiss visitor briefly raises her spirits, but the romance is doomed to failure and Dvir must make the most difficult decision of his young life.
The photography is stunning and the young actor who plays the lead gives an astonishing performance as the boy who loves his disturbed mother so deeply. The ending is truly heartbreaking yet strangely uplifting. I urge you to see this wonderful film if it comes to your part of the world, and hope that a DVD release is not too far distant.
The story is set in a Kibbutz in Israel where 12 year old Dvir (Tomer Steinhof in his debut movie) faces many trials as he is entering his bar mitzvah year. The most difficult one is coping with his mother Miri whom he loves above all else. She lives in a very fragile mental state and Dvir knows he must protect her from herself. A romance with a newly arrived Swiss visitor briefly raises her spirits, but the romance is doomed to failure and Dvir must make the most difficult decision of his young life.
The photography is stunning and the young actor who plays the lead gives an astonishing performance as the boy who loves his disturbed mother so deeply. The ending is truly heartbreaking yet strangely uplifting. I urge you to see this wonderful film if it comes to your part of the world, and hope that a DVD release is not too far distant.