Monday, February 7, 2011

LEBANON [Review 2]


If you remember my MIFF 2010 reviews, “Lebanon” was the film I gave as my favourite from the festival [read my MIFF review here].  At the time I saw it, I had just seen a film that I had hated, and was starting to get a bit down by the amount of mediocrity in the films I was seeing.  “Lebanon” came at the perfect time and just blew my mind. 
“Lebanon” is a claustrophobic story of four young soldiers, who are inside a tank, thrust into the Lebanon war on its first day.  This is director Samuel Maoz’s first film, and is based on his own experiences of that 1982 war.  It amazingly captures the intensity and absurdity of war in the 24 hours that it is set.  Confusion and fear play important roles for the soldiers who find out first hand just how hard it is to pull the trigger at a real person compared to that of a training drill. 
Right from the get-go, the guy on the gun makes two terrible mistakes because of the speed everything happens and the confusion as to who is enemy or civilian.  The first, not pulling the trigger on a terrorist causing a fellow soldier to be killed, and then immediately following, panicking because of the first mistake and killing an un-armed civilian.  From here until the end of the film, we the audience, are in a state of suspense as we, like the soldiers, have no idea when or where the next attack is coming from.  We also get to feel the emotions and the psychological consequences of these poor soldiers in relation to the actions that they take. 
Overall, this is superior filmmaking; it is wonderfully shot and acted, making “Lebanon” a fantastic film.  It is riveting from start to finish and is reminiscent of the great German film “Das Boot” (high praise, indeed).  Check it out if you ever get the chance.

Ranked 6 in Top 25 of 2010

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