Bonjour Monsieur Shlomi

''Bonjour" is especially lucky in having Shlomi Bar-Dayan, the 16-year-old misfit of the title, played by a young actor named Oshri Cohen, who's able to convey the impossibility of ever making sense of the world with a single bruised gaze.

A warm exception to coming-of-age stories that accent the tacky and vulgar aspects of adolescent awakening.

Credit the disarming cast, especially Oshri Cohen as the boy and Arie Ellias as his eccentric grandfather. They help turn what could be a standard comedy into a life-affirming, enjoyable one.

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's nothing unique about Zarhin's plot -- it's a standard coming-of-age tale with traces of "Good Will Hunting" -- but she portrays the intra-family dynamics with unusual honesty and accuracy.

Sweet if slight Israeli comedy.

Nothing in it -- plot, dialogue or character development -- reaches today's standards of filmmaking.