Lebanon French Israel Germany Drama War Movie 2010
Cast And Crew
Cast: Itay Tiran, Oshri Cohen, Zohar Strauss,
Dudu Tassa, Yoav Donat, Michael Moshonov
Director: Samuel Maoz'
Writing credits:Samuel Maoz
Produced by: Anat Bikel,Leon Edery,Moshe Edery,
Sonja Ewers,Ilann Girard, Benjamina Mirnik,
Uri Sabag,Gil Sassower,David Silber, Meir Tetzet,
Original Music by: Nicolas Becker,Benoît Delbecq
Date Opening: 03.Feb 2010
Genre: Drama, War
Runtime: 92:min
Synopsis:
Je venais d'avoir 19 ans en mai 1982. La vie était belle. J'étais amoureux. Ensuite on m'a demandé de partir sur une base militaire et d'être le tireur du premier tank à traverser la frontière libanaise. Cela devait être une mission d'une journée toute simple mais ce fut une journée en enfer. Je n'avais jamais tué quelqu'un avant cette terrible journée. Je suis devenu une vraie machine à tuer. Quelque chose là-bas est mort en moi. Sortir ce tank de ma tête m'a pris plus de 20 ans. C'est mon histoire."
Reviews:
Aiming to do what Das Boot did in capturing WWII from the point of view from the confines of a submarine, Samuel Maoz's debut feature film, which recently captured the Golden Lion at Venice, aims to view the opening days of the 1982 Lebanese-Israeli war from the cramped interior of a tank. To amp up the visceral aspect of the film, things never leave the tank and all outside action is viewed through the scopes and viewports of the iron beast. The exception to this is a handsome opening shot of drooping Sunflowers in an open, sunny field; stark contrast to crucible of sweat, fear and metal that this location will prove to be.
The crew consist of the commanding officer, the driver, the shooter an the shell-loader. They are more like a casual construction crew than a soldiering outfit, mainly just driving around and positioning their intimidating hardware. But when the war begins and they have to begin shelling cars, buildings and people, there is confusion, insubordiation and mainly pure unvarnished fear. The slogan on the inside of the tank may read "Man is Steel, the Tank is only Iron." But these men are far from it. Amist the barking radio orders (and occasional visits at the hatch) of the mission officer, these men hesitate and agonize.
Maoz based his screenplay on his own fears and reactions to the initial days of the war, and uses the tank as a big blunt metaphor for situation. Awkward, clumsey, operating without working dials, traumatized from shells an rockets aimed at it, yet continuing to lumber on through the wreckage. Nearly everything seen outside, from soldiers (Israeli friendlies and PLO terrorists) and vehicles, to innocents and apartment buildings are viewed with a gigantic crosshair in the frame. Inside the tank is inside these young soldiers head, slow to respond to the chain of command and occasionally bursting with anger and rage at the situation. The shooter, Yigal, becomes the primary character, as the most difficult thing to do is pull the trigger, his is the all seeing eye that gets a close up and accurate view of the immediate chaos and carnate of urban battle.
The film does not achieve the scope or grand scale of Das Boot, rather being a very intimate and small and focused. It is surpisingly accessible in terms of image and underlying meaning, to the point where it is quite surprising that it won the big prize at Venice, it nonetheless is an intense and visceral experience. It gets beyond its 'gimmick' only through the quality of the actors (a story of sexual release as a balm for grief is a standout monologue) and offers as close of a 'ride' as anyone is going to get in a tank (or in the mind) in engagement.Did you have to cut a great trailer to get into this year’s Venice Film Festival? Neither the mesmerizing trailer for “A Single Man” nor this intense trailer for the Israeli film “Lebanon”, winner of the Venice Film Festival’s prestigious Golden Lion (a.k.a. the best film of the festival), have a word of English. You may not understand what “A Single Man” is about but you’ll want to find out. Judging only from the trailer, “Lebanon” is about three Israeli soldiers in a tank watching the war in Lebanon through the scope on their vehicle. Looking at the official logline, I was close. The film is about not three but four Israeli trapped in a tank deep in enemy territory during the Lebanon War. It’s also autobiographical but I never would have figured that one out. But I came close and I don’t understand a word of Hebrew which is a great credit to the trailer but it does make my ancestors very, very sad.
“Lebanon” currently has no U.S. release date although it will play during this year’s New York Film Festival. I wouldn’t be surprised if Israel made the film their submission to the Academy in the Best Foreign Film category. Hit the jump to see the trailer and require no subtitles.
For a full list of this year’s winners at the Venice Film Festival plus comments by “Lebanon’s” director Samuel Maoz,
Trailer for LEBANON, Winner of the Golden Lion Award at This Year’s Venice Film Festival.
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