Healing art in Israel’s ‘Shlomi’

“Dysfunctional” is an overused adjective in an age in which almost any family seems to fit the description. The Bardayan family of Tel Aviv, the center of Shemi Zarhin’s affable Israeli comedy “Bonjour Monsieur Shlomi,” however, may be an exemplar of functional dysfunction. They’re a mess, but somehow they get by.

As noted previously in Screening Room, the heart and soul of the family is Shlomi, a sensitive 16-year-old struggling through school while holding together his eccentric household. He cooks and cleans as well as caring for his elderly French-speaking grandfather, whose salutations give the film its title. Though Shlomi is completely taken for granted, he exhibits a certain wizardry in the culinary arts, especially baking, that hints that there is more to the young man than meets the eye.

That’s not to say Shlomi (Oshri Cohen) is unhappy; he’s too busy keeping peace at home, but he’s also too busy to have any friends other than a girl at school with whom he’d like to “upgrade” the relationship. She, however, has put him in the deep freeze, romantically speaking. This leaves Shlomi to experience sex vicariously by sneaking peeks at his older brother Doron’s diary.

Shlomi’s mother, Ruhama (Esti Zakheim), a nurse, is an obsessive woman who is estranged from his father Robert (Albert Iluz) because he once cheated on her with her best friend. Ruhama constantly worries about Doron (Yonatan Rozen), who is in the army but serves out of harm’s way in an entertainment division. He suffered a severe illness as a child and Ruhama donated a kidney to him, giving them a strong bond -- though they fight constantly. Ziva (Rotem Avohav), the boys’ older sister, is married with children of her own but recycles the turmoil in which she grew up into her own marriage. Shlomi not only takes care of everyone’s domestic needs, he also serves as chief advisor and confidant, leaving little room for his own needs.

All this changes when a tall, dark beauty (Aya Koren) moves in next door, and a new principal discovers some previously hidden academic talents in Shlomi. The girl’s name is Rona, and she is to gardening what Shlomi is to baking: an artist. She and the principal help unleash a hidden side of Shlomi.

Though Zarhin’s humor sometimes veers toward that of the situation comedy (even in Hebrew this can happen; who knew?), spirited performances and a charming, upbeat story make it impossible to dislike Shlomi and his family.

The film doesn’t directly address the turmoil of Israel, and that’s at least partly deliberate. “Bonjour Monsieur Shlomi” may ultimately be slight, but its appeal lies in its ability to find hope and strength in the soulful eyes of a gentle teenager. There is a transcendence to the warmth of the Mediterranean sun and azure sea of Israel’s coast that makes for a fitting antidote to the violence and bombast of most summer movies.

*

‘Bonjour Monsieur Shlomi’

MPAA rating: Unrated

Times guidelines: Brief nudity and sexual situations

Oshri Cohen...Shlomi Bardayan

Esti Zakheim...Ruhama Bardayan

Arie Ellias...Grandpa Bardayan

Aya Koren...Rona

Yigal Naor...Principal

A Strand Releasing presentation. Writer-director Shemi Zarhin. Producer Eitan Evan. Cinematographer Itzik Portal. Editor Einat Glaser Zarhin. Costume designer Inbal Shuki. Music Yonatan Bar-Giora. Art director Ariel Glazer. Running time: 1 hour, 34 minutes.

Exclusively at Laemmle’s Music Hall, 9036 Wilshire Blvd., Beverly Hills, (310) 274-6869; Laemmle’s Town Center, 17200 Ventura Blvd., Encino, (818) 981-9811; Edwards University Town Center, 4245 Campus Drive, Irvine, (949) 854-8818.