Aug ’06: The Israeli film BROKEN WINGS swept that country’s Academy Awards in 2002, and also won major awards at the Berlin, Palm Springs and Tokyo International film festivals. The film opens this week in the United States. Jan Lisa Huttner (JLH) caught up with director Nir Bergman in Chicago to discuss some of the metaphors that inform the film.
JLH: When BROKEN WINGS begins, a mother and her four children are in mourning. The father is dead, but we don’t see any pictures of him, or any flashbacks that tell us who he is. I think “the father” is Yitzhak Rabin [the Israeli Prime Minister who was assassinated by a right-wing Jewish zealot in 1995]. Am I wrong about this?
Nir Bergman: No, no, you are not wrong at all. In a lot of ways this film is personal to me. It came from personal materials (about my parents divorce). But in the process of making the film, it became clear that this family can give you a picture of our world today. Since this murder, Israel is an orphaned country. Rabin’s death influenced me very strongly.
Click HERE to read complete chat with Nir Bergman on FILMS FOR TWO.
