Event

Ojai Film Society presents: The Kind Words

Three Israeli siblings join together after the death of their mother, and are startled by the revelation that the man who raised them is not their biological father. The quirky, grieving siblings include beautiful, prickly Dorona and her brothers, Orthodox Jew Netanel and bisexual Shai. Along with Doronas devoted, over-obliging husband, Ricki, they all set off on a journey into their past, from Israel to Paris and then to Marseille, searching for Maurice, the Muslim Algerian who might be the trios real father.

In The Kind Words, accomplished writer-director Shemi Zarhin explores an unraveling, dramatic family secret with sensitivity and some humor, with requisite, bittersweet self-discovery woven throughout. Genuine, intimate portrayals of a dysfunctional but loving family leave us with a movie that has no clear ending, reminding us that real life is not really clear, predictable or tidy.