Bonjour Monsieur Shlomi (Israel 2003, 94 min. dir: Shemi Zarhin, cast: Oshri Cohen, Aya Steinovitz Koren, Arieh Elias, Esti Zakheim).

What’s with fat Israelis living in small apartments and screaming at each other? If the Arabs didn’t wish them death, their blood pressure would kill them quicker. Bonjour Monsieur Shlomi starts out with all the negatives of a crazy family picture, but quickly makes a turn into a unique, heartfelt, lovable movie. Shlomi is the teenager of the title, and the “Bonjour Monsieur” part is his grandfather’s daily attempt to speak French (why French? More craziness). In this dysfunctional household Shlomi is never given a second look and gets al the tasks like cooking and cleaning. He’s though to be a dullard until his teacher at school takes and interest and re-tests him.

Turns out he’s a genius at math. This fact does no dissuade his older brother and sister from making fun of him and his divorced mother from continually warning him that he’ll amount to nothing and is behaving like a Moroccan Jew (apparently a Jew’s worst nightmare). Slice of life is more like slice of salami in this house, but Shemi Zarhin makes the characters so fresh we are always surprised.

The tentative, tender, blooming love story between Shlomi and next-door neighbor Rona (Israeli best supporting actress nomination) aches with repression until he confronts her with his brother’s diary and she tells him he is the only one for her. Rona is what we all want in a next-door neighbor and Shlomi’s story is our dream of breaking away from the walls that hold us, and finding freedom with the lover of our dreams.