Beaufort (2007)

I love this movie so much

People are voting emotionally.

How sad is this?

Although I seem to have had higher expectations than I thought, the movie is super entertaining.

A genuine drama of a society living in the small but gallant and beautiful state of Israel - a drama set in Beaufort fortress in Southern Lebanon. As far back as in 1982 did brave IDF soldiers take control of the fortress in a bloody battle during the first Lebanon campaign. That war was started to stave off bloodthirsty terrorists (this time - members of Hezbollah). Much blood was spilled during that battle, but the movie is focusing on the year 2000, shortly before the Israeli troops withdrawal from Lebanon. The fortress somehow reminds of the state of Israel itself: also isolated, among the trigger-happy enemies only seeking to grab every chance to shoot to kill. The defendants of the fortress, despite their being soldiers, have their own, sometimes very different opinions concerning defense strategies in particular and politics in general, and that is how Israel is divided, too. Ruefully, the final course of action decided upon both by the commanders of the fortress and commanders of the country is almost always that of defense and withdrawal, as the little state of Israel lacks international understanding and support necessary to treat the trouble-makers as they deserved to be treated and are treated in other places. The good thing about the film is that it doesn't seem to take a clear-cut stand concerning what should be done and thus embraces both camps comprising the society - leftist and rightist. United shall we stand, but shall we win? Hopefully so.

'A more mature version of Buffalo Soldiers' would be the easy, one sentence summary for 2007 Isreali film Beaufort; a film looking at the smaller, less exciting situations and scenarios behind the larger, more significant situations and scenarios that shape certain people's lives. The film is slow, but deliberately so, pointing out the insanities of war by having the primary soldier characters sit around and eventually loose interest at the sound of shelling and warning of incoming explosive shells; thus leading to a potentially damaging mental attitude when something dangerous isn't initially treated as such. If people are to find the film slow, then the film has done its job because it avoids following a nice, neatly plotted route that instigates familiarity and a sense of accomplishment. What the characters do is a slow process, and Beaufort studies it.Joseph Cedar's film sees a number of Isreali troops inhabit a reasonably large bunker in southern Lebanon at Beaufort Castle stronghold. The year is 2000, and the troops are a part of Isreal's army holding the area from Lebanon forces located several miles away and mostly limited to the odd rocket or shell landing on or around the area of the stronghold. The film builds to the historic IDF withdrawal, in which the Isreali troops abandoned the fort and the conflict fizzled out with a political handover. Cedar uses the time leading up to this event as a chance to deconstruct the troops; to have them indulge in any necessary acts of questioning one's role in life and in the conflict as well as document what it took for the men involved to get by; to live; to survive and, ultimately, to get by the monotony.No, don't worry – there are no tank drivers ploughing into other vehicles whilst under the influence of drugs in this film like there are in Buffalo Soldiers. Rather than take guidance from a Cheech and Chong movie, Beaufort draws on 1981's 'Das Boot' for inspiration, at least according to Cedar himself. The inspired ideas are clear: a study of what happens in-between conflict with the enemy and how conflict with friends as well as foes can lead to everyone's downfall. Beaufort's approach to the material, that could so easily have been delivered hollowly and without much intrigue, isn't an airy and sweeping approach that relies on long, long takes of external shots of the fort. Instead, it is constructed in an uncanny sense; that this space we are inhabiting should be something to be feared, and that while conflict is sparse with gunfire and man-on-man conflict almost non-existent - that doesn't mean we are not in a war-zone of some kind in the first place.Beaufort carries a low and pulsating noise on its musical track almost entirely throughout. It's a very obvious noise, obvious more at certain times than others, creating an eerie and uneasy sense for a lot of the close, claustrophobic shots of inside the bunker itself. This early series of exchanges, which is meant to get across the bunker as a place of fear, is actually told through the eyes of a certain soldier named Ziv (Knoller), a bomb expert specifically called in to look at a suspicious object not too far away. Since it is our first taste of the bunker at Beaufort, we get to see the dwelling through the eyes of this new recruit as fear and uncertainty washes over us as it does with Ziv. There is no doubt Cedar applies this tactic and removes Ziv from the text at the point he feels we are embedded within the locale and no longer need a rookie's viewpoint to break us in.Some of the more uncanny items that crop up during this opening segment might include Ziv's encounter with a dummy dressed as an Isreali soldier; the manner in which the approach is constructed with the positioning of the doll and the finding out of what it is with the sudden appearance of a friendly soldier, with the rest of the film playing out under grey skies or the black of night, is unexpectedly unsettling and works really well. But this is all introduction, and the bulk of the film will revolve around several other Isreali soldiers, Koris (Tiran); Shpitzer (Perzev) and Liraz (Cohen) to name but a few. Beaufort sees fit to plunge us head first into explosive combat as many of the guys try to avoid incoming artillery shells although later on, the direct hitting of the base, drolly announced by a tannoy with the words 'impact, impact', doesn't seem to have an affect on anyone anymore.Following the continuous so-called monotony of the shells hitting the area, there is one such incidence during which a missile of some description hits the base and everybody suddenly takes notice.The impact is a lot larger and a lot louder than the usual shells, causing panic; causing a sense of urgency. What follows is further use of sound effects as a means of the uncanny what with a bizarre diegetic/non-diegetic siren sound effect clogging up the sound tracks and disorientating the audience just as much as the characters. Beaufort is a film that documents the absurdities of war but through a relatively peaceful and mundane setting and one of its more seductive accomplishments is how it delivers a tale about essentially bored people, in a manner in which we actually find them interesting. Credit where credit's due, Beaufort works.

This film has just been aired on the Copenhagen International Film Festival and of all the Israeli films available, this was the one I was - not - going to see, and yet I did. It is still only a few days, since I saw it, but the images return and the sheer originality in terms of being a 'war movie' coupled with the usual Jewish genius of making a point: in short comment, dry humor, body language, tone of voice, well chosen repetition i.e. the monotonous, almost dead, tone over a loudspeaker from the lookouts stationed to warn against 'incoming, incoming' missiles, which after explosion were commented on by,'impact, impact'. After the third or fourth of these 'scenes' I suddenly felt a wave of claustrophobia and fear, which these young Israeli soldiers must have felt being stuck on a mountain top, without a visual enemy, and only lookouts to rely on for their own lives and safety, 'incoming, incoming' - crash, bang -'impact, impact' - it was unnerving. This film is a must for anyone - also those who like me, are not war buffs, because it is not about war. It is about a lot of things. Reality, how to handle anxiety, frustration, loss, grief, in a tight and stuck environment, with no relief in sight, (Israel itself?) It is about individuality in terms of different personalities, backgrounds, political opinions who have to make it work and who do in their own humorous, gentle, aggressive, accepting way. It is about men and a male attitude which I have not witnessed for over thirty years,(and sorely missed); the honesty and humanity of men, and it is about exile. The one lifeline to the home country; a dirt road, has been blocked by a strange explosive device for about a month, and this is where the film starts, with the bomb squad arriving at the outpost, to identify and disarm the device, so that the outpost can receive supplies once again...and a whole 'different' story is touched upon. I could go on for hours about this film, and not in a very logical way, since all the 'points' haven't been connected yet, it has so many layers. This what I call genius - 'layering' and this is what I look for in Israeli film and this year it was Beaufort, who delivered. Go and see it.

This movie is simply amazing - but as mentioned else where - might be extremely problematic for the non Israeli, non IDF serving audience. Despite that - the movie has a universal notion that shines through: occupation wars that last for years on end with no clear objective except to stay in the occupied land cannot be won. This is hardly even war - its the use of naive young men, using their sense of patriotism and love for their country and willingness to serve it for a twisted, outdated political machination that ends up killing them and putting them in impossible situations. The movie was criticized for being far too left winged, but I view it as mostly right winged - it shows the camaraderie of soldiers, the bonds that can only be created, or so it seems, in a close knit military unit. Also - there are no women in the movie, not even by voice - which further serves to show a society built on macho-ism and the devotion for young men and their sacrifices to the country. There are no talks of peace here, no talk about negotiations or even viewing the enemy as human. There is only running away or fighting. Despite all that - the movie captures a sense of reality, filled with all variants of humor and pain and longing to get home that captured me completely. I served 4 years in the IDF and this movie manages to get to the core, to the essence of the unbelievable situation of serving, fighting and dieing without knowing why, without seeing any goal or reason in the madness - only following orders. This is one of the best Israely movies created - if you have any interest in Israely cinema, regardless of your political or other views, don't miss it.