Lebanon
2009/Is,De,Fr,Lb/93mins
Dir: Samuel Maoz
Cast: Oshri Cohen, Zohar Shtrauss, Michael Moshonov
Soldier turned film-maker Samuel Maoz depicts the Israeli invasion of Lebanon in 1982, as seen from the inside of an Israeli tank.
A lone tank is dispatched to search a hostile town. Shmuel the gunner, Assi the commander, Herzl the loader and Yigal the driver, are the tank’s crew; four 20-something boys who have never fought before and are now operating a killing machine. Though trying to remain brave, the boys are pushed to their mental limits as they try not to lose their humanity in the chaos of war and struggle to survive, as their simple mission spins out of control.
‘This voyeuristic view of combat scores big for formal audaciousness but also carries an interesting intellectual depth’ Time Out
Winner of the Leone d’Oro at the 66th Venice International Film Festival 2009.