Dir. David Ofek, Yossi Madmony. Israel. 2002. 102mins.

The feature debut by two Israeli directors who have a strong body of TV work behind them at home, The Barbecue People is an ambitious jigsaw puzzle that profiles one specific community of immigrants in Israel, the Iraqi Jews. First launched at last year's Jerusalem Film Festival, where it was overshadowed by the success of Broken Wings, it was recognised last month when it won a Best Script Award at Mar Del Plata. More challenging for its fragmented narrative than for the individual plots, which are not always as enticing, it should play well in most festivals, although on commercial circuits it will need careful handling: it does not have the warmth, nor the emotional impact, of Broken Wings. The Barbecue People is released by United King in Israel next month. Latin American territories have already been secured through Orler SA.

The film starts and ends at the same point, the 1988 open air celebration of Israeli Independence Day in a park by the sea. With families gathered around barbecues to feast and have a good time, the plot breaks out into flashbacks and asides, focusing on the various members of one family. Their past and present mingle in a myriad of episodes, each featuring one of them as the leading character, doggedly and relentlessly pursuing their own personal agenda, regardless of the others.

The father, Haim (Ida), dreams of restoring his past reputation as a musician and underground star in Iraq, stolen from him by a man who was once his wife's suitor. His wife, Naima (Abecassis), is temporarily swept off her feet by that same man who reappears in her life while her spouse is away in America, chasing evidence that will support his case. Her suitor, by now a dark, powerful and deadly dangerous potentate, is out to avenge the romantic defeat he had suffered in his youth.

Haim and Naima's older son, Eli, who went to New York to make trash movies and became infatuated with his star, returns home after she is murdered. He falls in love all over again with her twin sister, still living at home and observing the strict rules of her religious orthodox family. Meanwhile Eli's younger sister, who is still in the army, discovers she is pregnant but with no idea of who the father is.

Disrupting chronology, the script jolts the audience from one subplot to another, asking for their patience until all the loose ends are tied up. But Ofek and Madmoni are evidently more interested here in assembling the various components than they are in developing each story of character separately and in depth. Neither do they have the necessary legerdemain to send up either Troma-type products or soap operas as certain sections of the film require.

Yet the resulting composite somehow works when it is taken as a whole, delivering a vivid portrait of an immigrant community subjected to the inevitable (certainly in Israel) melting pot process that only widens the already natural breach between generations and their different perceptions (or lack) of life. Helped by the rough but sincerely sympathetic performance of Victor Ida (a musician by profession) as the father and Raymonde Abecassis' soulful presence as his wife, the picture is ultimately faithful enough to its sources to deliver the kind of message that could ring a bell with audiences everywhere.

Prod co/int'l sales: Shiba Productions
Is dist: United King Films
Prod: Micha Shagrir, Lior Shefer
Scr: Ofek, Madmony, Shefer
Cinematography: Shai Goldman
Ed: Arik Lahav
Prod des: Yoav Dahari, Tami Gadish
Music: Israel Bright
Main cast: Victor Ida, Raymonde Abecassis, Israel Bright, Dana Ivgi, Makram Khuri, Igal Adika