Noodle (Ayelet Menahemi, 2007): Israel

Reviewed by Richard Feilden. Viewed at the Santa Barbara International Film Festival.

It sounded as though Santa Barbara had been hit with a sudden cold epidemic, such were the sniffs and snuffles that greeted the end of Noodle, the third Israeli film that I’ve caught at the Santa Barbara International Film Festival. Much like fellow Israeli comedy The Band’s Visit, this touching, low key film from director Ayelet Menahemi, hits all the right notes. It’s has no deeply profound statement to make, but this refreshing, entertaining film was just what I needed on the final day of the festival.Miri (Mili Avital), a flight attendant, pastes a smile on her face for her work, but it quickly slips the moment she leaves the airport. Twice widowed by war, she shares her home with her sister (Anat Waxman), herself separated from her husband, but their relationship is strained. Their lives are upturned when Miri’s Chinese cleaner receives a phone call which causes her to fly into a panic. Gesticulating wildly, the only words of English (their loosely shared language) are ‘one hour, one hour’ and with that she leaves the sisters with her six year old son. One hour turns into several, which turns into a night. The woman’s phone drops out of service and Miri is left with a small child that she cannot communicate with, a sister she doesn’t want to communicate with and her sister’s husband, whom she seems too comfortable communicating with!

Miri contacts the police, though she neglects to mention the boy, and hospitals, but with no luck. Eventually they brave the immigration department and discover that the mother was living in the country under an assumed name. Miri is told that the woman’s story about having a son were discounted as a cheap attempt to be allowed to stay and that she has been returned, effectively untraceable, to Beijing. The question then, is what will Miri do with the boy in her care?

As the film follows the sometimes dramatic, sometimes comic, story of Miri and ‘Noodle’, the nickname given to the child, it ponders the absurdity of a human being who can stand in front of you, yet officially not exist. It also explores the sister’s relationship, their past and the path they must take to have a chance of future happiness. As they struggle to find a place in the world for little Noodle, they find their own route from emotional cowardice to actual heroics. On the way they manage to raise plenty of smiles and chuckles from the audience as well as leaving the room, as the hosts of the Filmspotting podcast are fond of saying, ‘a little dusty’

The Israeli comedies that I’ve encountered at this years festival have left me with a desire to further tap what appears to be a rich vein of unpretentious but satisfying works. This film will probably obtain few, if any, awards and, outside of its homeland, garner little attention. But give it the time and it will win a place in your heart.