Lifetime television Israeli-style is how I found ?Campfire?, a feature length drama by Israeli filmmaker Joseph Cedar.

Campfire is the story of a 42-year-old mother of two teenaged daughters whose husband has been dead for a year. As the family have just gotten through the mandatory mourning period they try to get their lives back on track.

Completely unfamiliar with the life of a typical Israeli at home in Israel I am unable to say how good or bad the director was at capturing that but I can say the characters Mr. Cedar created were interesting and believable. Having seen the film I now feel I have a little better understanding of the culture.

In the film the mother, Rachel, played by Michaela Eshet, is keen to be included in a new settlement. She recognises the difficulty of being chosen as she is a widow and the committee making the decisions want a religious family setting.

To win approval Rachel begins dating and sees men who have been recommended to her by the wife of the committee chairman.

The first man, Yossi, played by Moshe Ivgy, turns out to be the most interesting character in the film. He is a middle aged virgin bachelor who has never had a long-term relationship. His honesty and lack of refinement make him an endearing character both to the viewer and eventually to Rachel.

The acting in this piece is superb, in particular Hani Furstenberg, who plays Tami, the younger of the widow?s two daughters.

There?s a scene where she dances around the room when everyone is out, completely absorbed by the music and the way the movements make her body feel. It?s probably not coincidental that we see her interested in her body in this way as she is later sexually assaulted.

Undoubtedly the real strength of this film in the script, and as I already mentioned, the writer?s development of the characters.

There is a softness, to each of them which makes them more real. The rich man that Rachel dates is not portrayed as the brash irritating brute he most certainly would have been in a Instead as a renowned tenor he is a bit refined and quite polite although lacking the gentleness and genuineness of Yossi. This refreshing change is probably more realistic not only to Israeli culture but also to ours in the West. As the Bermuda Film Festival is unable to have Press screenings in cinemas, I saw this film on DVD at home. It may be different on the large screen but the subtitles on my TV were running much too fast for me to keep up. Several times I had to stop rewind and try to read it the second time. If it does run this way on the big screen viewers will not have that luxury. There were also times in the film that I felt I needed a translation and none was given. There?s a scene where the tenor is giving a performance and Rachel seems to be moved by?well I?m not sure what, as the lyrics were not translated. Perhaps it was not the lyrics at all but in the absence of them, I really don?t know.