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Holding down the fort
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Reviewed by: MARGI HERWALD ZITELLI City Editor
Tears, blood and intensity in excellent Israeli drama “Beaufort”
“I don’t deserve to be the one who fled from Beaufort!”
By the time this is uttered by Liraz (Oshri Cohen), the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) officer in charge of the titular fort and outpost in the film “Beaufort,” you have to agree with him. He doesn’t deserve to be the coward who retreats. He doesn’t deserve to be the fool who risks his life and dies. He doesn’t deserve to be the jerk who forces others to risk their lives and die. But ultimately, Liraz and all of the men in his unit will have to be one of those things n whichever the Israeli government and circumstances choose for them.
This is one of the struggles at the heart of “Beaufort,” a beautifully crafted and intensely sad film directed by Joseph Cedar (“Time of Favor,” “Campfire”). Ostensibly a war movie, “Beaufort” actually feels more like a character study of the type of men who become Israeli soldiers. Since service is compulsory, the boys of “Beaufort” have a very different very different attitude than the soldiers in (modern) American war movies, who all chose to sign up for specific reasons.
“Beaufort” was nominated for the Oscar for Best Foreign Language film in 2008. It screens at the Cleveland Cinematheque June 5 and 7.
Based on the novel by Ron Leshem (who co-wrote the screenplay with Cedar), the film centers on the IDF unit stationed at Beaufort castle in Lebanon in 2000. A mountaintop fortress that was claimed and lost by many different armies since the Crusades, Beaufort was taken by Israel in the 1982 Lebanon war. When the Israeli government decided to pull forces out of Lebanon in 2000, it meant abandoning the IDF’s 18-year-old outpost on the mountain surrounding the crumbling castle.
Liraz and his company are used to relatively quiet days and nights at Beaufort, but as evacuation draws nearer, Hezbollah mortars begin to fall more often. The idea, the soldiers realize resentfully, is to make it look on the international news like a long-scheduled disengagement is actually a retreat from a more powerful foe.
The arrival of Ziv (Ohad Knoller), a bomb specialist, sets off a chain of events mounting in intensity as evacuation nears. The pullout can’t happen until Israel’s only road to Beaufort is cleared of a single Hezbollah bomb. Ziv feels it’s too dangerous a situation for him to handle, but he has his orders. In the meantime, the appealing, introspective specialist befriends Liraz and the other soldiers. Among them, the calm, cool Koris (Itay Tiran, star of the Cameri Theatre’s “Hamlet” now at The Cleveland Play House); Liraz’s best buddy Oshri (Eli Eltonyo), who dreams of reuniting with his girlfriend in America; and young aspiring musician Shpitzer (Arthur Perzev).
Although the stakes (and the body count) rise, “Beaufort” remains a quiet, intimate film. It’s not about explosions and shouting. It’s about the quiet, lonely nights on watch; Koris’s unraveling into a grief-stricken lost soul; and Liraz’s evolution (or devolution) from just a guy doing his job to a man who must try to rise above himself and lead his fellow soldiers to safety.
“Beaufort” succeeds on so many levels. First, the script. Cedar and Leshem keep the story narrowly focused on the men in the fort. We never see any of the Hezbollah attackers; rarely do we glimpse the world outside the castle, and then only on TV; this enhances the intimacy. Also, the soldiers are all drawn as regular dudes. They would be the same people if the movie were set in a pool hall or diner or someone’s living room. Their banter feels absolutely natural.
The acting, too, is subtle and natural. Without any “actor-y” bombast, the whole ensemble hits all the right notes in scenes of fear, sadness, anger and humor (yes, parts are quite funny). Tiran as Koris stands out as utterly convincing and captivating. Cohen, in the showiest role, navigates Liraz’s changing emotions nicely. He isn’t always likable, but he is always real.
Lastly, Cedar’s direction is spot on. He creates a very stark, visual landscape. Every scene, whether awash in the shadows of night or the cold, gray light of day, is rife with tension. He smartly chooses shots, focusing on characters’ faces and bodies (whether in tight or wide shots), but mostly avoiding images of bombs and guns or destruction. That approach works n from the first moment Ziv, Liraz and the crew move out to defuse the initial bomb, the danger is as unknown to the audience as it is to the characters, and the tension is crazily high.
“Beaufort” certainly didn’t fill me with positive feelings for the IDF or the Israeli government. And it left me with an overwhelming sadness. Nonetheless, as a story about real people with real fears and doubts, it may be the most powerful and most naturalistic Israeli film I’ve ever seen.
Not rated. 2:05.
mherwald@cjn.org
Tears, blood and intensity in excellent Israeli drama “Beaufort”
“I don’t deserve to be the one who fled from Beaufort!”
By the time this is uttered by Liraz (Oshri Cohen), the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) officer in charge of the titular fort and outpost in the film “Beaufort,” you have to agree with him. He doesn’t deserve to be the coward who retreats. He doesn’t deserve to be the fool who risks his life and dies. He doesn’t deserve to be the jerk who forces others to risk their lives and die. But ultimately, Liraz and all of the men in his unit will have to be one of those things n whichever the Israeli government and circumstances choose for them.
This is one of the struggles at the heart of “Beaufort,” a beautifully crafted and intensely sad film directed by Joseph Cedar (“Time of Favor,” “Campfire”). Ostensibly a war movie, “Beaufort” actually feels more like a character study of the type of men who become Israeli soldiers. Since service is compulsory, the boys of “Beaufort” have a very different very different attitude than the soldiers in (modern) American war movies, who all chose to sign up for specific reasons.
“Beaufort” was nominated for the Oscar for Best Foreign Language film in 2008. It screens at the Cleveland Cinematheque June 5 and 7.
Based on the novel by Ron Leshem (who co-wrote the screenplay with Cedar), the film centers on the IDF unit stationed at Beaufort castle in Lebanon in 2000. A mountaintop fortress that was claimed and lost by many different armies since the Crusades, Beaufort was taken by Israel in the 1982 Lebanon war. When the Israeli government decided to pull forces out of Lebanon in 2000, it meant abandoning the IDF’s 18-year-old outpost on the mountain surrounding the crumbling castle.
Liraz and his company are used to relatively quiet days and nights at Beaufort, but as evacuation draws nearer, Hezbollah mortars begin to fall more often. The idea, the soldiers realize resentfully, is to make it look on the international news like a long-scheduled disengagement is actually a retreat from a more powerful foe.
The arrival of Ziv (Ohad Knoller), a bomb specialist, sets off a chain of events mounting in intensity as evacuation nears. The pullout can’t happen until Israel’s only road to Beaufort is cleared of a single Hezbollah bomb. Ziv feels it’s too dangerous a situation for him to handle, but he has his orders. In the meantime, the appealing, introspective specialist befriends Liraz and the other soldiers. Among them, the calm, cool Koris (Itay Tiran, star of the Cameri Theatre’s “Hamlet” now at The Cleveland Play House); Liraz’s best buddy Oshri (Eli Eltonyo), who dreams of reuniting with his girlfriend in America; and young aspiring musician Shpitzer (Arthur Perzev).
Although the stakes (and the body count) rise, “Beaufort” remains a quiet, intimate film. It’s not about explosions and shouting. It’s about the quiet, lonely nights on watch; Koris’s unraveling into a grief-stricken lost soul; and Liraz’s evolution (or devolution) from just a guy doing his job to a man who must try to rise above himself and lead his fellow soldiers to safety.
“Beaufort” succeeds on so many levels. First, the script. Cedar and Leshem keep the story narrowly focused on the men in the fort. We never see any of the Hezbollah attackers; rarely do we glimpse the world outside the castle, and then only on TV; this enhances the intimacy. Also, the soldiers are all drawn as regular dudes. They would be the same people if the movie were set in a pool hall or diner or someone’s living room. Their banter feels absolutely natural.
The acting, too, is subtle and natural. Without any “actor-y” bombast, the whole ensemble hits all the right notes in scenes of fear, sadness, anger and humor (yes, parts are quite funny). Tiran as Koris stands out as utterly convincing and captivating. Cohen, in the showiest role, navigates Liraz’s changing emotions nicely. He isn’t always likable, but he is always real.
Lastly, Cedar’s direction is spot on. He creates a very stark, visual landscape. Every scene, whether awash in the shadows of night or the cold, gray light of day, is rife with tension. He smartly chooses shots, focusing on characters’ faces and bodies (whether in tight or wide shots), but mostly avoiding images of bombs and guns or destruction. That approach works n from the first moment Ziv, Liraz and the crew move out to defuse the initial bomb, the danger is as unknown to the audience as it is to the characters, and the tension is crazily high.
“Beaufort” certainly didn’t fill me with positive feelings for the IDF or the Israeli government. And it left me with an overwhelming sadness. Nonetheless, as a story about real people with real fears and doubts, it may be the most powerful and most naturalistic Israeli film I’ve ever seen.
Not rated. 2:05.
mherwald@cjn.org
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