Sweet Mud

In a surprising, bittersweet gem set on a kibbutz in 1974, writer-director Dror Shaul takes an insightful but harsh look at communal life, Israeli-style — and he pulls an emotionally rich performance out of Tomer Steinhof in the role of Dvir, his 12-year-old hero. Dvir's family is burdened with shameful secrets — his mother's mental instability and his father's mysterious death. In his bar mitzvah year, Dvir tries to take on the role of fixer and healer, but he's foiled by the poisonous atmosphere of this society. The cast is marvellous, and the characters linger in the mind long after the final frame.