The Summer of Aviya

A beautifully modulated, affecting film (based on an autobiographical book by Gila Almagor) dealing with the aftermath of the Holocaust. Set in a small settlement in the harsh early years of the Israeli state (1951), it depicts the summer 'holidays' unexpectedly spent by nine-year-old Aviya (Kaipo Cohen) with her mother Henya (Almagor), an institutionalised survivor of the camps who turns up on graduation day at Aviya's boarding-school. The delineation of the mother-daughter relationship is accomplished with remarkable sensitivity and restraint. That the bonding may not be easy is shown when Henya, convinced that Aviya has lice, ruthlessly shaves her hair until she resembles a camp inmate; but equally well conveyed are their tentative moves toward an expression of mutual love, despite the mother's severe emotional lurches and outbursts. Cohen never indulges in the pain and suffering of his characters, but anchors the film in significant detail, gently recalling the pressures and realities of their situation. Rich, insightful, and healing.