Israeli film ‘Lebanon’ takes top prize in Venice

September 13, 2009 - 2:19 PM by David

A scene from 'Lebanon'It’s ironic that just as a group of well-known actors and filmmakers, among them Jane Fonda and Danny Glover, are calling to boycott this year’s Toronto International Film Festival because one program there will be devoted to films set in Tel Aviv to mark that city’s centennial, an Israeli film walked off with top honors at the 66th Venice Film Festival.

Israeli director Samuel Maoz’s Lebanon won the Golden Lion, the top prize, at the closing ceremony on Saturday night, the third Israeli film based on soldiers in Lebanon besides Joseph Cedar’s Beaufort in 2008 and Ari Folman’s Waltz with Bashir in 2009 to win major awards. None of those films could come close to being described as Israeli propoganda, as the pro-boycotters claim all Israeli film is, and in fact, they provide a critical look at Israeli society and the wars we’ve fought.

Lebanon, Maoz’ first feature film, received glowing reviews from critics, with The International Herald Tribune calling it “a powerful and original film.” Based on Maoz’s battle memories, Lebanon depicts the fate of an IDF tank and its crew behind enemy lines at the beginning of the first Lebanon War in 1982.

According to The Jerusalem Post, the hard-hitting film is shot almost entirely from the point of view of the soldiers inside the tank, and is uncompromising in its depiction of the confusion of war, the inevitability of casualties (both civilian and military), and the claustrophobia of being stuck inside a machine that protects soldiers but can also become a death trap at any moment. It is highly critical of the leadership that brought these soldiers into such a deadly situation and left them there with so little guidance.

Lebanon is nominated for several Ophir Awards, the prizes of the Israel Academy for Film, including Best Picture. The Ophir winners will be announced in a ceremony on September 26.
The winner of the Ophir Award becomes Israel’s official entry to be considered for a nomination for the Best Foreign Language Film Oscar.

It’s also ironic, that as more and more quality Israeli films are being made that have nothing to do with war and conflict, it is precisely those war-based movies that are touching an international audience. If the naysayers who would deny audiences in Toronto from viewing the spectrum of film which reflect the diversity of Israeli culture – that don’t attempt to whitewash any blemishes or skirt over the pall of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict – would only view some of the films themselves, they may reconsider their decision to boycott.

Tags: , , , , , • Category: A New Reality, General, Movies, Pop Culture, War 

Comments

5 Comments on Israeli film ‘Lebanon’ takes top prize in Venice

  1. Harold on Wed, Sep 16th 2009 8:21 PM

    2. Leonard Cohen is going to be in Israel to perform. Despite the urgings of bigots that he shun Israel, he has decided to take the high road and go anyway. Leonard Cohen stands head and shoulders above third-rate hacks like Jane Fonda and others of her ilk.

  2. Roger King on Thu, Sep 17th 2009 2:27 PM

    3. Sounds very interesting and is this movie available DVD? We will be in Israel in November. Just love your country.

  3. Calder on Sat, Sep 19th 2009 4:21 AM

    4. As a Jew, I do not support Israel’s Zionist policies, but as a human being, I recognise that hatred and violence is perpetrated on both sides and innocent blood is shed by both. There needs to be an awareness of the innocence and the guilt of each nation. Neither is completely wrong or right and if we don’t stop blaming and condemning one side or the other, how will there ever be reconciliation and peace?

  4. Walid Khuri, MD on Fri, Sep 25th 2009 10:32 PM

    5. I did not have a chance to see the movie although i would love to. But from reading about it from different sources, it seems to try and humanise those Israeli soldiers that are hidden behind their tanks and or their warplanes. I hope such efforts would lead to the Israelis to have some feelings and maybe try to understand where their counterpart “Palestinian enemies” ,that have to bear the brunt of their devastating war machine, come from. Maybe some more movies will be made by Isaeli artists to try and humanise the Palestinian or other Arab enemies. Movies as those can go far in bridging the gap between these two peoples.

  5. David Kalmus on Fri, Dec 4th 2009 7:10 AM

    6. Dancing With Bashir animation is a work of art that delivers its message in a very powerful way. Humanizing the Israeli soldiers trapped between the battle and their politicians. One scene though was strange to me, did these soldiers really left behind by their peers? This is not the standard I know of IDF.

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