BONJOUR MONSIEUR SHLOMI was nominated for 12 Israeli Academy Awards

Language: Hebrew (English Subtitles)
Genre: Drama/Comedy
Director: Shemi Zarhin
Starring: Oshri Cohen, Arie Elias, Esti Zakhem, Aya Koren
RunTime: 1 hr 34 mins
Released By: Cathay-Keris Films & Lighthouse Pictures
Rating: NC-16 (Sexual References)

Release Date: 5 May 2005

Synopsis :

Shlomi takes care of everyone. He feeds his grandfather, bathes him and listens to his fictitious stories from World War II. He reminds his older brother to take his medication on time and listens intently to his pornographic fantasies. He calms his quick-tempered mother and mediates between her and his hypochondriac father who was thrown out of the house after cheating on her. He looks after his older sister’s twins and makes sure she keeps going back to her husband who can't tell between the identical babies. And most of all, Shlomi makes sure to make everyone happy by cooking their favourite dishes. Shlomi knows – they’ll eat and calm down. But no one in the family really sees Shlomi. Even Shlomi doesn’t see Shlomi. Until one day a routine math test arouses the suspicions of Shlomi’s math teacher and school principal. After meeting and talking with him, they realize that a very unique personality is hiding behind this neglected and dormant boy. With their help and the help of Rona the gardener with whom he falls head over heels in love, Shlomi discovers himself.

“Bonjour Monsieur Shlomi” is a heartening family comedy, a surprising love story, which focuses on the captivating character of one boy blessed with extraordinary cooking talents, who discovers through the power of love that the sky is the limit.

Movie Review:

One of the new Israeli cinema's great strengths—the fact that its intimate domestic dramas might take place just about anywhere—is also its biggest liability. After all, Israel's complex society and political conflicts are perennially interesting. Enter Bonjour Monsieur Shlomi, Shemi Zarhin's “Good Will Hunting," feel-good, sensitive coming-of-age film about a young boy who makes good. Sixteen-year-old Shlomi is the ultimate enabler. He cooks, cleans and cares for his wacky grandfather, admires his swaggering older brother, and tries to mediate between his hot-tempered mother, his hypochondriacal, adulterous father, and assorted family members. Meanwhile, his own talents go unnoticed, until a discarded math test reveals something special.

A quick peek at the sitcom pack of family Shlomi has: His mother Ruhama is prone to shouting at anybody and everybody, and still harbors much resentment against Shlomi's father Robert, thrown out after a bout of infidelity. Robert keeps trying to reconcile, but Ruhama keeps throwing him out. Shlomi is jealous of his brother, who is lazy around the house and keeps a journal of his sexual exploits. At school, Shlomi's girlfriend wants to put a hold on their relationship, while Shlomi wants to “upgrade their relationship”. Shlomi's sister is having her own problems with her husband’s curiousity with internet explicity, so she continually comes over, bringing her twins. And rounding out is Shlomi's, who may be completely insane or if you look at it inanother angle - the only other normal one. Oh, and of course the introduction to Aya Koren, a tall, striking actress with a compelling screen presence, is warm in another way as the neighbor Shlomi becomes smitten with.

Shot entirely on digital ( that it looks like a home movie ) , the film does conjure up a warm feeling of homely presence but might not be agreeable to some. Acting presence of the cast ''Bonjour" is especially lucky in having Shlomi Bar-Dayan, the 16-year-old misfit of the title, played by a young actor named Oshri Cohen, who's able to convey the impossibility of ever making sense of the world with a single bruised gaze. Feeling unloved by his mother and alone at school, Shlomi overcompensates with his service of others and has nothing left when it comes to developing his own unique talents. The drama conveys the challenges that overtake this quiet and sensitive youth as he begins to bloom and open up to the positive forces that are liberating him.

Zarhin isn't much of a stylist as a filmmaker, but he does conjure up some evocative scenes. Shlomi, trying to figure out which adult to listen to about his future, dreams he is fighting in Tokyo alongside "the partisans" his grandfather keeps talking about. The battle images are blurred, but Monsieur Shlomi's confusion is crystal clear. Its all about growing up and realizing ones own path but being in a dysfunctional family, someone has to take charge and fix them. But sometimes situations do get overwhelming and slowly takes over a person’s life. Confusion stirs and emotions torn apart, until a mentor said “You’ve got to stop living in someone else’s life”. You don't need Shlomi's smarts to realize that's the smartest thing to do.

Movie Rating: B-

Review by Lokman B.S.