I loved Shemi Zarhin's newest film, The Kind Words, which
just opened in cinemas in Israel. Shemi
Zarhin is well-known for his wonderful films -- Aviva My Love, Funny World, Bonjour
Monsieur Shlomi and Passover Fever.
As in the others, this one is a rich and complex family drama, with in-depth
quirky characters and comic elements.
The Kind Words is about a Jerusalem family. The mother is divorced from the father, who
has found himself a younger wife. There
are three grown children -- the married daughter who is in crisis because she
continues to have multiple miscarriages, the married brother who is religious with
three kids, and the younger gay brother.
When the mother dies from a complication following surgery and their
father reveals that he is unable to conceive children, the three siblings
realize that they don't really know who they are. They set out to discover their biological
father, traveling to Paris and to
Marseille, slowly piecing together the story of their mother's past, working
together to solve the mystery. Together
they uncover so much about their mother -- her growing up in Algeria, her quirky sister living in Paris, and her
estranged relationship with her parents -- and so much about themselves.
A film of charm, wit
and irony, The Kind Words provides insight into issues of identity,
family crisis, compromise and love. This
is a top notch film -- great directing, acting and editing with well-developed
characters. The
Jerusalem/Paris/Marseille venues are compelling and rich, and the narrative
construct provides both a road movie and a family drama.
The film is available
from United King or Beta Cinema
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