Noodle

First published on 3 Jun 2010. Updated on 4 Jan 2011.

Noodle This 2007 Israeli film confronts preconceptions about that nation in an emotionally cathartic tale of human connection. Miri (Mili Avital) is a childless El Al flight attendant who has been twice widowed (both husbands died in military operations). When her Chinese cleaning lady vanishes she finds herself the ad hoc guardian to the woman's young son, affectionately dubbed "Noodle" (BaoQi Chen). Her sister and niece are equally bamboozled by the abandoned boy's presence in their home, the three of them so set in their ways they struggle to give the poor kid so much as a kind word, let alone a much needed hug.

Miri gradually taps into her long lost maternal instinct to form a heartfelt attachment to Noodle. Director Ayelet Menahemi uses would-be cultural clashes to enhance the character development: the family's frustration with a Chinese restaurant's chopsticks transforms into a Noodle-led cutlery tutorial, while Noodle's inabilities with Hebrew prompts Miri to use a Mandarin phrasebook to uncover important answers on his identity. The movie feels real and hits the warm, fuzzy spot – it's hard not to want to bundle up the adorably sad/happy Noodle and carry him home to his deported, Beijing-bound mother.

The tear-jerking resolution is not especially believable but forces each family member to face their long-standing tensions and unspoken moral dilemmas. Evoking notions of the home, family and the personal moral compass, the film may do the same for its audience. If anything, it's worth a look to see Noodle's bowl cut ‘do in action.