Israeli film ‘tunnels deeper and deeper’

Joseph Cedar’s powerful film, "Beaufort," opens in New York today, the third feature narrative by this New York-born Israeli film director. The film opens with "light in the tunnel," a clear dramatic and visual statement that keeps repeating. A soldier seems to be making his way through a dimly lit corridor somewhere underground, a constant visual that director Cedar provides as he searches for truths. Literally trying to dig to the bottom of what it means to be an Israeli, Cedar tunnels deeper and deeper, with few opportunities for air as he struggles with the idea of Israeli gvura (valor) in the post-Lebanon occupation period. Cedar, who spent nine months in Lebanon, lost two of his close friends there. For him and co-screenwriter Ron Leshem, from whose novel this story is drawn, this unearthing of the past is hard yet therapeutic.

Cedar’s film is set during the last days of the Lebanon occupation in 2000. The story centers around a platoon of Israeli troops defending and protecting Beaufort, this seemingly important outpost in Southern Lebanon. The visual is sharp and crisp as we at once are witnessing a melding of "All Quiet on the Western Front" and "Fort Apache." It’s the good guys protecting us from the bad. Yet we never meet the "bad," we just spend the next two hours under siege with the soldiers as they struggle with their mission at the fort and their expectations of an occupation that has lasted 18 years. Today, just a year and half after the last conflict in Lebanon, we are all the more focused on what they are saying.

The Beaufort Castle, the "beautiful fort," was built by Crusaders in the 12th century, though some scholars date it to Roman times. I’ve seen it from Israel’s northern border, and it is a spectacular spot amidst a magnificent vista. Over the years, having changed hands and been occupied by several rulers, it has become a symbol of both beauty and power. With its commanding view and majesty, it has, over the course of time, become a representation of dominance in the region. When in 1982, the Israeli army captured it in a battle that signaled the beginning of first Lebanon War, Prime Minister Menachem Begin and Defense Minister Ariel Sharon paid a symbolic visit to the fort to announce Israel’s victory. This is where they took the TV crew.

In Cedar’s narrative, we delve into a series of difficult contemporary questions for all Israelis and for all of us who are close to Israel. Lebanon has often been called Israel’s Vietnam, and yet we were reminded that it, and with it all its woes, will not simply go away. So what are the soldiers saying? What are they struggling with? What of their sacrifices? Dreams? Expectations? All of this is the centerpiece to this remarkably filmed work. Ofer Inov, the director of photography, uses every turn in the underground passageways literally to shed some light on the subjects being discussed. It is particularly intriguing that most of the action actually takes place in these corridors, just as in the cave in the final climactic moments of Cedar’s first film, "Hahesder" ("Time of Favor"). Cedar, a traditional Jew, carries this idea of separating light and darkness throughout his film, carefully but subtly interjecting various charming moments. In one scene, a soldier having wandered the dark hallways makes his way into the bright well-lit dining area just as his fellow soldiers are ushering in Shabbat and the aura of the Sabbath bride. I leave it up to you, the viewer, to interpret the symbolism of light in darkness.

Whatever Beaufort, this once strategic mountain and symbol of victory, holds for today, it has also become a symbol of war and loss of life. Over the years, Israeli cinema has struggled with the role of soldier and defender, always with a great deal of deference. Israeli movies always put forward the notion that serving in the Israel Defense Forces was both a right and honor. This film is no different. Yet the notion of dying for one’s country is put to a question. Nearly 90 years ago, Joseph Trumpeldor, a decorated Russian war hero, Zionist, and commander in the Zion Mule Corps, Palestine’s Jewish brigade in World War I, was said to have said, "Tov Lamut B’ad Artzenu" ("It’s good to die for our country"). He did so while defending the Tel Hai settlement in Israel’s north from Arab marauders. In this film, the father of a fallen soldier talks about having failed as a father because he did not teach his son how important life was: "I didn’t make him understand that if something happens to him, a whole world falls apart — collapses." This is just one of the messages and questions in this film. As Israel withdrew from Lebanon in 2000, it left behind more than 1,000 dead and a generation of Israelis scarred by their experience. Just what was that withdrawal all about? Did it come too late or might Israel have been better served had the soldiers stayed? "Beaufort" is complex and sometimes tedious, but if you are ready to be challenged, this is a film you must see.

"Beaufort" is playing at New York’s Lincoln Plaza and Quad Cinemas. It is Israel’s submission this year to the Academy Awards for best foreign language picture.