LEBANON

This is the story of one particular Tank and its crew in the first few days of the Israeli invasion of Lebanon in 1982.  It tells of the sheer terror of young inexperienced soldiers doing all that they can to survive just by obeying orders that they don’t understand, and keeping on the move, and when in doubt, shooting to kill.

Apart from the opening and closing shot the entire movie is filmed from inside the tank and we only get to see the outside world through the tank’s viewfinder.  Sharing the close confines with these frightened young men creates this extra dimension as we witness their total fear, and the very fact that they seem to have no real grasp of why they are fighting, or even a clear idea of whom they are fighting.

 “Lebanon’ is not about the political aspect of this particular war, but by showing the life-threatening effects on this small army platoon, it is a powerful indictment of war in general.  The movie was written and directed by Samuel Maoz who was 20 years old when he served as a Tank Gunner in the war, and that is why it all seems not just so  authentic and real, but extremely personal and touching too.

R.T.V. I’ve struggled with my description here as I know however I put it, the concept of a movie shot in this way seems daunting to say the very least. However, let me qualify it by saying unequivocally that this outstanding movie that had me totally transfixed for the entire 90 mins,  and moved me for a long time after, is definitely on my list of Top Ten Movies of 2010.  It is that brilliant.

P.S. As it is rarely on more than two screens in the US, be sure to add it to your Netflix list ….its already in DVD in the UK.