39 POUNDS OF LOVE

Tel Aviv resident Ami Ankilewitz is 34 years, weighs 39 pounds, and is paralyzed with muscular dystrophy (he can speak and move one finger). Yet, as Dani Menkin's documentary establishes, Ami's unflinching enthusiasm to participate questions what it means to be disabled. Reeling from a broken heart, Ami, with the filmmaker and some pals in tow, undertakes his life's dream: to tour the U.S., ride a Harley and confront the doctor who told his mother he wouldn't see his seventh birthday. For added value, Menkin incorporates one of Ami's computer-animated films, which remarkably Ami has created with his one functioning finger. The film's low production values, short running time and on-the-fly intimacy reminded me of a segment from a television news program, but one can't deny the inspirational power of Ami's will to live life to its fullest. In English and Hebrew, with subtitles. Starts Fri., March 31. Squirrel Hill (AH)