Baba Joon

Gr 5 Up—In this award-winning film from Israel, a father's expectations for his 13-year-old son, Moti, is the foundation for a classic tale of multigenerational conflict set in an Iranian/Israeli moshav (settlement). Moti is the sole grandson, poised to continue farming despite his passion for auto mechanics and lack of interest in attending to the turkeys. A loving and compassionate mother is barely influential in curbing her husband's insistence that the boy stop tinkering and learn the family business. When Uncle Darian arrives for an extended visit, he recognizes similar dynamics that drove him to leave home, and he encourages Moti to pursue his passion. Emotional fireworks ensue among the family. Meanwhile, Moti gains the courage to refuse farming, which he finds repulsive. There are intimate scenes of abiding love between all the principals, artfully interspersed throughout. At the climax, Moti stands up for himself and faces his father's and grandfather's wrath. Viewers will glimpse scenes of religious school and will get a sense of Moti's peer relationships and the isolation of the Iranian community in greater Israel. Subtitles translate Hebrew and Farsi, with a sound track of Persian songs from Moti's grandfather's generation.