Jamie passion and passionfruit!

Another of those films that leaves you so moved and gutted that you wonder why so many critics rail against it.  Admittedly many have been positive, but some smarties cast it aside as another weepie!  You may well shed a few tears but it is because of the sheer injustice of a life the Ethiopian boy has to go through between being ordered by his own mother to leave her behind in a refugee camp in Sudan, to arrive in a non-too inviting Israel and be absoultely disorientated.  As time goes by, having to learn different languages and religious practices too take their toll on Schlomo’s sense of identity and then on top of that we have the constant racism of the Israeli people towards these dark-skinned Jews.  Radu Mihaileanu’s film is a very thoughtful and detailed account of the life of one boy, which is a lesson for us all on what our identitiy means to us and just how important it is to respect each other’s individuality rather than try to make people what they are.  The film is well scripted and moves along well thanks to some very competent acting and to the shear reality of this situation which many have passed through.  Yael Abecassis as the adoptive Israeli mother is excellent, as is Yitzhak Edgar who is an elderly member of the Ethiopian Jewish community who acts as a sort of surrogate grandfather.  The three boys who play Schlomo don’t put a foot wrong: Moshe Agazai, the youngest, is also great.  Armand Amar has composed some very moving music too.  All told then, top marks for humanity and a pretty good rating too as a movie, long and engrossing.

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