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Broken Wings 2002 |
Review by Jonathan Cornwell |
Directed by Nir Bergman
R, 87 min. (some language, brief nudity, drug use) |
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Starring: Orly Silbersatz Banai, Maya Maron, Nitai Gaviratz, V. Friedman, Dana Ivgi, Danny Niv, Daniel Magon, Eliana Magon
Producer: Assaf Amir
Screenplay: Nir Bergman
Cinematography: Valentin Belonogov
Distributor: Sony Pictures Classics
Released: 3.12.04 (Limited)
(In Hebrew with subtitles) |
Rating:
  (out of ) |
Broken Wings tells the story of an Israeli family in crisis through the eyes of family members who must deal with
both personal and interpersonal turmoil amidst the aftermath of tragedy. Directed by Nir Bergman, the film has an
authentic and palpable resonance that emerges from a gritty core; Bergman, who also wrote the screenplay, utilizes the
"fly on the wall" perspective to communicate the characters' grief, loneliness, and eventual catharsis. The film's title
is appropriate; the obvious analogy of children whose wings have been clipped due to the loss of a parent and the
void that it creates in their lives becomes a driving theme throughout the morose but insightful picture.
Dafna (Orly Zilberschatz-Banai), a mother whose children suffer under the devastation of her continued inability to
emerge from the mourning of her recently departed husband, struggles to keep her family together. She relies heavily
on Maya (Maya Maron), whose passion for her garage band takes a reluctant backseat to the needs of her siblings, who
seem despondent and resistant to rejoining societial norms. The oldest, Yair (Nitai Gvirtz), mumbles of existential
despair while refusing to finish high school, therefore leaving the brunt of familial responsibility to Maya. Meanwhile,
the younger children, Ido (Daniel Magon) and Bahr (Eliana Magon), retreat to the lonely confines of personal
isolation. When Ido is rendered comatose after jumping into an empty swimming pool, the family is forced to confront
each other, leading to sometimes volatile words and actions.
The stirring perfomances from the cast elevate well-worn material to engaging melodrama, which avoids condescension
and overwrought mawkishness. Zilberschatz-Banai and Maron throw themselves completely into their characters,
providing a strained mother/daughter relationship that echoes real-world angst with the undercurrent of mutual respect
and love. Maron proves she has a future in film with a commanding presence and awareness of each scene's needs.
A good supporting turn from Vladimir Freedman, as a doctor attending to Ido, becomes the conduit through which
the family reunites in guarded optimism for the future. Broken Wings finds a heartfelt tone in the chaos and
separation of loss and tragedy that is rare in today's slickly constructed templates of superficial familial bonding. This
film has a heart, and as mother and daughter find each other through the mutual arduous attitude toward a broken down car,
they speak volumes more about human relationships than any hollow piece of mainstream entertainment could possibly provide.
© 2004 Jonathan Cornwell
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 |
 | Masterpiece - Film perfection |
| Excellent - A Must See |
| Good - Highly Recommended |
| Fair - Worth seeing |
| Average - Viewable, but not recommended |
| Below average - View at own risk |
| Poor - Avoid at all costs |
| Very poor - An embarassment to the film industry |
| Zero | Awful - One of the worst films ever made |
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