Oddly enough, Barak looked and even sounded more upbeat than a somewhat dour [Ariel Sharon] did when the Likud leader finally showed at the Tel Aviv exhibition grounds to give his fairly uninspiring victory address. While the prime minister-elect's tribute to his late wife Lily provided for a moving moment, his remarks as a whole lacked energy. Maybe it was just a little too late in the night for Sharon (it certainly was for me, and I'm 30 years younger).

Sharon is a man who generally prefers to let his actions speak louder than his words (even if I don't approve of most of those actions), and at least he is not likely to repeat the mistake made by his Likud predecessor in the prime minister's chair of confusing media spin with the substance of genuine policy. Still, the Sharon government is going to face an awesome PR challenge in the days ahead; the prime minister-elect, whose relationship with the media in past years may be the worst of any major public figure in this country, will clearly need far finer tools than just a bulldozer to smooth this problem out.

The best attraction of Star Shining on the Heart is the performances of its two lead actresses. [Eleanor] is played by Alana Berkovitch; once merely the object of gossip-column curiosity as pop- star Aviv Geffen's near- child bride (they have since split up), she has subsequently emerged as a talent in her own right. Even better is Dana Ivgy (daughter of Israeli film star Moshe Ivgy) who is completely believable as the observant [Dassy], perhaps in part because her mother, former actress Irit Sheleg, is herself a notable show- biz ba'al tshuva (newly religious).