The Zigzag Kid

Gr 6–8—Clever 12-year-old Nono is son of a top police Dutch detective and confident that he will follow in his father's footsteps. His mother has been mysteriously missing since he was little, and Nono carries her alluring photo. Sadly, her back is to the camera, and she remains unknown to the boy. These dynamics propel him into repeated mischief until he's sent off by train to be counseled by his boring Uncle Shmuel. En route, Nono encounters a charming, sly gentleman who careens the lad into a lively adventure, complete with disguises, aliases, and an encounter with a famous chanteuse in Nice. (Isabella Rossellini appears as the singer who knows Nono's secrets.) What awaits this boy, days before his bar mitzvah, is more than he could have imagined. Family, memory, and longing for knowledge of his missing mother all resolve in the final scenes, allowing Nono to embark on his adult life feeling connected and whole. Based on the book by David Grossman (Farrar, 1997), this witty, zippy jaunt contains profound underpinnings of a young teen striving to become a better person while seeking to reconcile the missing parts from his past. With English subtitles in the first half, viewers may be challenged to keep pace, but this feature film is totally charming.