Review – Beaufort

September 14, 2009

Beaufort – Israel, 2007

In medieval times, Beaufort Castle must have been the perfect spot for a king to rule from. High above a mountain overlooking miles of vast land, one could easily see an advancing army or approaching rebellion. Fast forward hundreds of years, and what was a strength in one century is a weakness in another. Advanced weapons have made even the most fortified of castles vulnerable to sudden attack, in addition to making the soldiers that guard them sitting ducks. This is the unfortunate position that Israeli soldiers assigned to guard Beaufort Castle find themselves in in Joseph Cedar’s excellent film Beaufort. Every day, these soldiers are at risk of bombardment from all sides at any time. And yet, there atop the mountain they remain, waiting for instructions, hoping for that phone call that tells them its time to abandon the mission and go home.

It is the year 2000, 18 years after Israeli troops first took the castle after what may have been a mix-up in orders. If that’s true, it’s of little comfort to the soldiers whose job it is to safeguard the castle. Each of them carries a weapon, yet they seem to have no opportunity to use it. Simply put, one cannot shoot at an enemy one cannot see. And so, the enemy remains safely hidden behind rounds of mortar shells and a singular, collective name, Hezbollah. It seems to me then that Beaufort is a look at an effort in futility.

We get the sense that the men guarding Beaufort Castle are also victims on a government that knows it must abandon the mountain, yet can’t get up the courage to admit that their position is no longer one of strength. Oh, they could order an air strike, and in the weeks that followed, the enemy’s silence could be interpreted as some sort of victory, but even the most optimistic of hawks would likely have to admit the inevitable. And yet they don’t, at least not at first. When a mine is placed along the road leading to the castle, a specialist is sent in to clear the way. He doesn’t make it back. When a mortar shell takes out a large chunk of wall, in the process killing a much loved compatriot, the official response is to strengthen the walls and for the soldiers to hold their ground. At one point, the order is given to set explosives all around the castle, only for the soldiers to then be ordered not to employ them yet. All the while, young men’s lives are in increasingly greater peril, a fact that each of them acknowledges judging by the looks on their faces.

Cedar does show us moments of calm, and during these moments we get to know the soldiers personal lives. Many of them have girlfriends they can’t wait to see. Others have parents who are completely unaware where they have been stationed. One in particular, Koris (Itay Tiran), has grave doubts about their mission and about the man leading them. Koris longs for an impulsive leader who would make the unilateral decision to simply blow up the castle and lead his men to safety. Lieutenant Liraz (impressively played by Oshri Cohen), brave and personal, yet young and imperfect, cannot issue such a command. It’s simply not in him to do so, and so he waits, knowing full well that in doing so, he and his men are in grave danger.

Beaufort is one of those films that starts slowly and builds in suspense and power. We are aware that their enemy is rapidly approaching and that the enemy’s technology is improving dramatically with each passing day. Sometimes the soldiers have a split second warning, “Incoming. Incoming.” At other times, they hear the hiss of an approaching mortar shell and wait nervously to see how close it will hit. I can only imagine how such experiences affect someone in the long term.

It is easy to stand on this side of the world and be critical of one particular side of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. I myself have on many occasions railed against the actions of both governments, one for being weak and the other for constantly portraying itself as being forced into action, when military action is always – right or wrong – a choice. In the past, what I often lacked was a personal connection to the people who for one reason or another take up arms and protect what they see as theirs. Beaufort, as well as films like Paradise Now, Kedma, and Death in Gaza, has provided me with a look into such individuals. Such experiences are rarely easy. However, they are ones all of us would benefit from having more of. (on DVD)

4 stars

*Beaufort is in Hebrew with English subtitles.

Review – Time of Favor

February 7, 2008

Time of Favor – Israel, 2002

"This land of Israel is bought with pain," a young woman named Michal says as she surveys the barren but remarkable land that is the West Bank. Her companion, Menachem, a commander of a religious unit in the Israeli Defense Force, at first does not understand her viewpoint. Michal explains that for her the West Bank and its settlement have brought her nothing but misery. As her mother was dying of cancer, she begged her husband, a powerful and influential rabbi, to take her to the city to get chemotherapy; however, he rejected her pleas, arguing that the settlement would fall apart without him. Michal's father essentially chose a barren land without running water over his wife.

Menachem commands a group of fervent religious youth who seem to take their inspiration from Michal's father Rabbi Meltzer, whom government officials deeply distrust, and for good reason. Rabbi Meltzer's sermons send out the message that the land around them is theirs, that their religion takes precedence over their families, and that they have been taken for granted for far too long. Michal, while respecting and valuing Rabbi Meltzer's counsel, finds himself divided between his religion, his duty to his country, and his own heart. His friend Pinchas hangs on Rabbi Meltzer's every word, believing each one to carry with it a divine message. When the Rabbi asks Pinchas to meet Michal, he immediately assumes - and he is correct in doing so - that he has been selected to marry her, and he is more than willing to accede to this union. Unbeknownst to him, Michal and Menachem are in love, and Michal is unwilling to be given to her father's best student as some sort of prize for being the smartest kid in the class.

Time of Favor is more than just the story of three young people caught in a love triangle. It is also about extremism and how the words of one man can cause people to be blindly devoted to a course of action that could led to open war. Rabbi Meltzer preaches the idea of strength in numbers; he proclaims that when their soldiers, soldiers whose loyalty is first to their religion, number in the thousands, no one will be able to deny them entrance to places that are rightfully theirs. His fiery rhetoric is enough to lead one of them to become a suicide bomber.

Time of Favor moves at a slower pace than normal films of this sort. Director Joseph Cedar takes time to develop Menachem and Michal's relationship. They do not automatically rush into each other's arms, but rather they come together like normal people do - attracted for a moment and then repealed by doubt and circumstance. Equally well-developed is their friend Pinchas, who goes from the euphoria of being admitted into his idol's family to a man willing to martyr himself, all the while his revered Rabbi denies that any of his messages could be misinterpreted as calls to arms.

Conspicuous by their absence are the Palestinians. The West Bank of Time of Favor may offer only the barest of life's necessities, yet it is one free of suicide bombers and mortar shells. The threat to that calm comes from within, and it brings with it the potential for much more pain for everyone involved. (on DVD)

3 stars

Time of Favor is in Hebrew with English subtitles.