The Zigzag Kid (Nono, het Zigzag Kind - 2012)

The full house at the Jewish Film Festival was utterly charmed by Nono--a 12 year old Dutch boy, his search to learn more about the mother who died when he was one, and his goal of becoming an inspector (detective) like his father, all in the last two days before his bar mitzvah. With plenty of humor, a Henry Mancini-style score, and some wonderful picture cars, this movie is entertaining for everyone who can read subtitles, from middle-schoolers on up. The only actor familiar to us in the US will be Isabella Rossellini (no longer best known as the daughter of Ingrid Bergman and Roberto Rossellini, she has a long list of credits, my favorites of which include White Nights (1985), Blue Velvet (1986), Siesta (1987), Wild at Heart (1990), Big Night (1996), Roger Dodger (2002), Infamous (2006), Two Lovers, and the animated My Dog Tulip), who plays a famous singer. I'm pretty sure she does her own singing. The music, by Thomas de Prins, can be previewed on the album's amazon page. Directed and written by Vincent Bal (he's Belgian), based on the book by Israeli writer David Grossman, this is highly recommended. Save it to your netflix queue, as it hasn't been released here yet.