Movie Review: Lebanon
When did you last see an Israeli movie? Or to narrow it down even more: When did you last see an Israeli-German movie?
Writer/director Samuel Maoz’s “Lebanon” was awarded the Golden Lion at Venice in 2009. The theme is “War is Hell” – and in this case, the emphasis is on the “Hell” part.
The year is 1982, and it’s the first day of Israel’s invasion of Lebanon. A handful of soldiers, all of them apparently fresh out of boot camp, climb into a tank to drive to St. Tropez. According to their commanding officer, there will be no problems. Just drive straight ahead. If enemies show up, shoot them down and continue driving.
But it isn’t that easy for the young men in the tank.
And that’s pretty much the whole story. More or less the entire film takes place inside the dark, dirty, and more and more broken tank. What happens outside is seen through a periscope — or the cannon’s sight. Don’t ask me, I’ve never been in a tank.
It doesn’t take long before they run into resistance, and the young gunner just can’t pull the trigger. Previously he’s only practiced shooting at barrels. This time it’s human beings, people he can see in the crosshairs of the telescopic sight. He finally pulls the trigger, and he’s about to break down when he sees the result; an old man with his arm blown off (and who gets a bullet in his head by the infantry), and a donkey split in half and still alive.
And it continues apace. The violence is brutal and nasty, with realistic wounds.
Despite its broad thematic scope, the movie is quite a lot about … close-ups. Lots of close-ups. I don’t know if the tank’s interior was constructed in a studio or if the camera operator was squeezed into a real tank with the actors and the director, but each and every scene features close-ups of dirty, sweaty, nervous faces, or grubby hands manipulating the controls.
My thoughts go to the German movie “Stalingrad,” one of the best war movies ever made. Even if I liked “The Hurt Locker,” the recent award-winner that offered a touch of entertainment and American coolness — tough characters delivering tough lines while looking tough — “Stalingrad” was about German soldiers, who are usually the bad guys. In “Lebanon,” we meet Israeli soldiers, which we’ve rarely seen depicted in movies, books or comics. These soldiers could be of any nationality, because, ultimately, they’re just a gang of guys scared shitless in extreme situations.
“Lebanon” is not a long movie, just 90 minutes or so including end credits, but it does tend to get a tad draggy during the last 30. The tank interior grows monotonous and the, story tends to stall. Having said that, I still think you should see this movie. It’s is very good, sometimes even shocking, a film as far from “Where Eagles Dare” and “Inglourious Basterds” as you can get.
Of course, I’d rather watch “Inglourious Basterds.”
“Lebanon” is currently touring the film festival circuit and is scheduled to open wide in August.
Images copyright © Atlantic Film
Written by PiddeAndersson
