Really sorry you didn't connect with it on an emotional level for whatever reason.

It is true of course that I have an abiding emotional connection to Israel and to the Jewish experience but I think the film transcends the limitations of time and place and is a universal exploration of loss and how families respond to it. 

Following is a summary of some of the key elements that stand out for me:

THE TRUTH OF THE CHARACTERS

The script authentically conveys the turmoil of adolescence, one minute they are angry and resentful, the next minute warm and loving. In every situation, the characters react believably even if at times they are unable to put aside their personal desires. All are separated from their pain and act out their guilt by engaging in various forms of denial: Six-year old Bahr wets her bed and Ido carries out a strange ritual of filming himself while jumping into an empty pool. Maya drifts between normal desires for boys and pop music and resentment against her mother for forcing her to assume child-rearing duties. The oldest brother Yair (Nitai Gaviratz) has been suspended from school and spends his time handing out political leaflets on commuter trains wearing a mouse costume while espousing a nihilistic philosophy. The characters do not speak to each other in "movie" language but talk in a way that is recognizably human.

INVOLVING STORY

The story, about ordinary people having to experience loss, is one that is easy to identify with. The film could easily have fallen into the trap of melodrama but the director avoids manipulating our emotions by not providing a clichd narration telling us how we should feel and by allowing the characters to achieve growth at their own pace. The score by Avi Belleli is also deeply affecting.

HUMOR 

It is a sad film but each character has their own droll sense of humor that lightens the tone, reminiscent of Kitano's Fireworks in its play of light and dark. Though the film has moments of darkness, it is not a bleak experience but an uplifting one. 

NATURAL AND UNAFFECTED PERFORMANCES

With the exception of Dafna, the mother who is played by an Israeli TV and film veteran, the actors are all first-timers and all the performances achieve a rare naturalness and authenticity. Mr. Bergman illustrates the problem and the challenge. "You had to use different manipulative ways for each actor. It's not like you have one method to work with all your actors, you gotta work with each of them the way that he works. You want to bring them to the authentic moment. But then it's so different between different actors. For instance I had a lot of problems with Yair in the energetic scenes. He was a non-actor and he had this pain in his eyes that got him the part, and he was quite good, he was great in most of the scenes that he didn't have to be angry. And then when he had to be angry and he had to be more excited, he found it hard to do because it wasn't exactly in his nature. So I had to ignore him that day. I had to not speak with him. And eventually I had to shout at him, until he came back with fire, you know? With what he was feeling. So when he and his sister are shouting at each other, that was a scene you really had to work on to get it out."

POLITICALLY RELEVANT YET UNIVERSAL IN THEME

The sudden loss of a family member is part of the experience of life in Israel today when a terrorist can, in an instant of horror, bring a swift end to an individual's plans, hopes, and dreams. The film could be a metaphor for the condition Israel finds itself in since the murder of Yitzhak Rabin, but it is not a political film. It is told in the language of personal emotion, of the struggle of a family growing together through a mutually shared loss. Broken Wings may not break any new ground stylistically but, in the honest way the characters interact to support each other, it is a deeply moving and unforgettable experience.