For those actively in it, war is no better than it ever was. It's dirty, tragic, scary, confusing and basically "hell," as General Sherman said. For film buffs, and fans of war movies, however, it's far better than it ever was. Advances in equipment, technical expertise and miniaturization, for example, make better movies possible.
Take "Lebanon," for example, an Israeli effort set in the first days of the 1982 war, when Israel invaded Lebanon. Set almost entirely within the less-than-cozy confines of a tank turret, it's even more claustrophobic than "Das Boot." And it's extremely personal. Writer-director Samuel Maoz was Shmulik, the scared-to-death rookie whose failure to fire is a contributing factor in the death of one of his fellow-soldiers and whose eagerness to atone results in the death of a civilian and a cloud of chicken parts in a dusty street.
Yoav Donat plays Shmulik; the others in the tank, all equally outstanding, are Hay Tiran as Assi, the tank commander; Michael Moshonov as Yigal, the driver; and Oshri Cohen as Hertzel, the assistant gunner, resident wise guy and impertinent questioner.
Despite the passage of nearly 20 years, Maoz remembers his terror and confusion and transmits the emotions perfectly to the page. Director of photography Giora Bejach does amazing work translating his words to pictures; much of the film is seen through the gun's sights. The four soldiers have absolutely no idea of where they are going or what they are supposed to do. A senior officer, who pops into the tank from time to time, proving that there is some sort of world out there, tries to keep things orderly, but knows little more than the men.
The men are told to take their tank on what they are told, "is a cakewalk" to a place code-named "San Tropez," in an obvious piece of military humor. They stall in the midst of a tiny town, lose their bearings, face more terror and horror than four young people should have to, regardless of their nationality.
Maoz shows some of this wry military humor, too, as when the tank stalls in the front door of a travel agency, and the gun's sight shows us posters of Big Ben, the Eiffel Tower--and the World Trade Center. This is a powerful, hard-hitting movie, like so many that we have seen from wars in faraway places over the last two decades. It's in a class with "Restropo," "The Hurt Locker," "Taxi to the Dark Side" and many others, even with "Das Boot," which may be the best war movie of them all. Will any of them teach us anything?
Lebanon opens today at the Tivoli.
--Joe
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