Sunday, June 19, 2011
TENSE
Today's film was the Israeli director Samuel Maoz'
A NYTimes Critics' Pick.
Almost all of this is filmed inside a tank operating in the first days of the Lebanon War. Four guys. Confusion. The horrors outside seen through the scope of the tank.
I was surprised that I, a claustrophobe, was not freaked by the confined space.
I was bothered by the violence that we see through the viewer.
There is nothing conventional about this film. I broke a rule and watched the short "making of" segment in the "features". There is a real tank. The tank they are in is realistic. The drama is not conventional although some of the tropes of such a situation are there. The coward. The insubordinate. The cry to mother when things get beyond frightening.
But nothing in the tank is as horrific as the scenes outside. Civilian casualties, confusion of situation. They eventually get lost.
This is a very good film. It conveys the horror of war that we know but also the bravery of the men who carry the mission through. In this case not fearlessness but the ability to function through fear and take action.
There is nothing pro-Israeli in this film which is basically a non-dogmatic anti-war film. The feature I watched included the objections of the Israeli government which were basically about the entire plot, action and dialog. They made it anyway. There is still freedom of speech in Israel.
I would not mind seeing it again but I won't work hard to make it happen anytime soon. I will give it a 4 out of Netflix5.
Labels: films
