Review by Doug Cooper
Stars Yoav Donat, Itay Tiran, Oshri Cohen, Michael Moshonov, Zohar Strauss,
Dudu Tassa, Ashraf Barhom, Reymonde Amsellem, Guy Kapulnik | Written by Samuel Maoz
UK certification 15 | UK RRP £15.99 | DVD Region 2 | Runtime 90 minutes | Directed by Samuel Maoz
June 1982 – a lone tank accompanies a platoon into a bombed out town to "mop up" any extraneous damage. Four young men operate the tank and are way out of their depth in handling the pressure of war. When it transpires that they are off course, and having taken possession of a Syrian prisoner, thay find themselves in far greater danger than they could possibly envisage.
Samuel Maoz's drama set during the first Lebanon war grips like a vice and never lets go. It's a superbly directed effort, gruelling and absorbing, that gives an evocative account of what it's like to be a young man in a war situation that he cannot control. Early on, the tank gunner espies their first target – a car with participants contained therein – and is ordered to fire on it. He is too scared to do this at first and is reprimanded. His next target is a lone man in a van with chickens. He is so scared at the prospect of this, having never fired on real people before, that he literally closes his eyes as he pulls the trigger as it were. The vehicle is blown up and the young soldier is shown shaking and shocked that he has maimed people.
This sequence is one of the best in the whole film – it's brilliantly edited and utterly rivetting. You sit there transfixed, mouth open at the young grunt's plight. This skill at depicting the machinations going on in their minds is so adroitly done you really feel as if you're experiencing what they're going through. The fluid photography helps too. For the whole time, we're in the tank with them, never venturing out. We see the carnage through their viewfinder, the camera casually picking up the dead bodies, subtly showing the soldiers in front patrolling, the commanding officer weaving in and out of the field of vision speaking on his walkie talkie, being assured of rescue that is becoming ever more tenuous.
There are no slack monents or false theatrics. The dynamic between the four men is convincingly rendered. One is rebellious and smokes, another is very frightened, one wants to be remembered to his mother. Every so often, the commanding officer jumps down into the tank to give them their orders. He doesn't tolerate insubordination, but as the narrative progresses we see that he is no less in charge of the situation than they are. Compelling, well paced and impressively controlled, Lebanon packs a mighty punch in its compact frame. It's a simple idea, forcefully conjured. Plaudits to everyone involved. They've not put a foot wrong and their work deserves the utmost attention and respect. An excellent effort delivered with surehanded confidence, it's well worth seeking out if you're of a serious frame of mind.
EXTRAS ★½ An audio commentary from director Samuel Maoz, and two tex documents - History of the first Lebanon War, and the background story to the film.