I absolutely love this film and I am so glad I got the DVD. I already watched it twice. I initially got it for the language being a student of Hebrew, but I was captivated by the story and the actors who are spectacular in my view. If you want to spend an enjoyable,calming and very funny evening, watch this movie..

Shlomi (Oshri Cohen), a boy of 16 or 17, loves to cook, and displays especially fine baking skills. He constantly makes cookies, and cakes, star-shaped and star-covered, alike. That may be why the film’s Hebrew title is Ha-Kochavim Shel Shlomi—The Stars of Shlomi.

Fact is, Shlomi’s stars shine in many other arenas, too. But Shlomi has special needs—which his separated parents, Ruhama (Esti Zakheim) and Robert (Albert Iluz) have never recognized, much less treated. This situation prevents almost everyone around Shlomi (including himself) to overlook his remarkable gifts—a savant’s gift for mathematics, a keen eye into others’ hearts, and a tremendously generous soul.

All except his physically disabled and slightly potty grandfather, whom Shlomi bathes, dresses, feeds—and loves. Rona (Aya Koren), the 17-year-old girl next door, who’s left her parents, set up house, and survives by gardening and selling gorgeous potted plants raised in her tiny yard. And Shlomi’s high school headmaster (Yigal Naor), who recognizes his amazing abilities when a math teacher calls Shlomi to his attention.

This film by Shemi Zarhin is extraordinarily engaging, a story filled with the self-discovery of many characters, and layers love, each of which viewers see as they’re gradually peeled back and exposed to daylight. It’s especially heartening for those working with special needs kids and teenage boys.

I can’t recommend this film highly enough.

—Alyssa A. Lappen