What an interesting, powerful character study we have in Nir Bergman's Isreali film Broken Wings! This movie's lead character, Maya (Maya Maron) is going to be haunting my subconscious for days now that I've immersed myself in the pain and isolation she expresses in this quietly moving film. This is the kind of foreign film that transcends its language and culture to tell a universal, aching truth.

Broken Wings is the story of a family torn apart by grief. As we're introduced to the members of this family, we gradually come to the realization that a husband and father of four has met with an untimely death within the past year, leaving behind his shattered and bitter wife, Dafna (Orly Silbersatz Banai), who now must carry the financial burden of the home, as well as two older and two younger children. Broken Wings focuses mostly on one of these children, the troubled Maya, as she is the one who carries both the family's emotional burden and a certain amount of guilt surrounding the death of her father. Dafna has focused her energies on working at the hospital in the midst of her sorrow and bitterness, and her eldest son, Yair (Nitai Gaviratz), has descended into a quiet resentment, forsaking his smarts for a ridiculous job in which he's shut away from the world.

Maya is a budding musician but finds her stabs at success consistently dashed by her unspoken role as the backbone of this despairing family. You can see the ache in her eyes, the tremble in her lip, as she turns her back on her dreams to care for two younger children, brother Ido (Daniel Magon) and sister Bahr (Eliana Magon). Each has responded to the family's tragedy uniquely and realistically, and one of the great successes of Broken Wings is the way that pain is communicated in an unspoken way. We don't see screaming fits, we don't see great emotional, sobbing releases—rather, in its whispered dialog and subtle characterizations, the film shows a deep understanding of the tender, silent, glassy-eyed melancholy of grief.

As I mentioned, Maya provides the emotional crux of the family and also the film. She's tough to look away from, compelling merely to watch as she struggles with her predicament. She's a teenager just beginning to find herself, just beginning to discover her joy, and the pain of being denied opportunities is etched raw across her face. You learn even later that there's more hurt to the story, and when you hear it, from her own lips, your heart breaks right along with hers. And just as quietly, the film ends on an unexpected note of hope, and you're so involved with this family that you find yourself rooting for them to heal in all the right ways.

Broken Wings caught me off guard—a surprisingly moving film that never stoops to obvious tugs at the heartstrings but rather gives us poignant characters portrayed with grace and subtlety. The actors are universally fine, and the writing hits pitch-perfect notes. Bergman's direction is delicate. I can't think of a higher compliment than to say that these very real people will stay with me, and that even after a single viewing, I'm wondering how they're doing right now. I bet Maya's singing.

HOW'S IT LOOK?

Columbia/TriStar presents Broken Wings in a good anamorphic-widescreen transfer of the film's original 1.78:1 theatrical presentation. Although the look of the image is relatively flat and cold, it offers adequate detail, reaching into backgrounds, and a color palette that seems to match the film's intentions. Facial color seems a tad drained, but that's probably accurate. I noticed fine grain here and there, as well as the presence of mild edge halos. This is an uninspired but watchable transfer.

HOW'S IT SOUND?

The disc's Hebrew Dolby Surround presentation with English subtitles is the only sound and language option. This is a pretty static presentation, offering little depth. On the plus side, dialog sounds clean and accurate, and the gentle score fares well.

WHAT ELSE IS THERE?

All you get are Previews for Broken Wings, Bon Voyage, Carandiru, Goodbye Lenin!, Monsieur Ibrahim, Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter…and Spring, and The Triplets of Belleville. Some of these are in anamorphic widescreen, some in non-anamorphic, and some in Dolby Digital 5.1.

WHAT'S LEFT TO SAY?

A powerful study of family grief, Broken Wings gets a strong recommendation from me. Image and sound quality are average, and supplements are nearly non-existent, but you should at least consider a rental.