Go see Broken Wings

Letters

Editor: On Thursday, March 25, my dad took me to see a special benefit screening of Broken Wings to promote the 16th Annual Vancouver Jewish Film Festival. The movie won nine Israeli Academy Awards, including best picture and, in 2002, was the winner of best picture in the Jerusalem Film Festival.

The movie is set in modern day Haifa and I expected some of the main themes to include war and suffering. Surprisingly enough, the topic of war was not even touched upon. Suffering of a different sort was the main subject of the film. It was the story of a family who had recently suffered the sudden loss of a husband and father. It shows how they learned to overcome disaster and gain strength and power together. Although the film was in Hebrew with English subtitles, the acting was extremely well done and the characters were very convincing – I forgot about the subtitles and became engrossed in the plot.

Aside from the plot, seeing the ordinary lives of people in Israel interested me. Unfortunately, I haven't made aliyah yet and been able to witness Israeli culture firsthand, but I hope to soon and the film gave me a small preview of what it's really like to live in the Jewish homeland.

I think it's very important for all Jews to experience Israel, but if the only way to do so is through a movie, I highly recommend Broken Wings. I'm also looking forward to seeing other films at the upcoming Vancouver Jewish Film Festival in May and I encourage others to do so as well. I'm hoping that some of these films will allow me to further develop my understanding of my own Jewish identity.

Melanie Sanderson
Grade 12, Magee secondary

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