Lebanon

The First Lebanon War—June, 1982. A lone tank is dispatched to search a hostile town that has already been bombarded by the Israeli Air Force. What seems to be a simple mission gradually spins out of control. The four members of the tank crew are twenty-something boys who have never fought in a war and are now operating a killing machine. Trying to remain brave, the boys are pushed to their mental limits as they struggle to survive in a situation that they cannot contain. Motivated by fear and the basic instinct of survival, they desperately try not to lose their humanity in the chaos of war. Writer/director Samuel Maoz's raw and visceral film is based on his own experiences as a novice solider serving in the Israeli army during the Lebanon war. Using his own vivid recollections to bring us inside an Israeli tank during the first 24 hours of the invasion, Maoz restricts the film’s action entirely to the tank's interior and shows us the outside world—as the four young soldiers themselves see it—through the lens of a periscopic gunsight. (Fully subtitled)

Director:

Samuel Maoz

Cast:

Reymond Amsalem, Ashraf Barhom, Oshri Cohen, Yoav Donat, Guy Kapulnik, Michael Moshonov, Zohar Shtrauss, Dudu Tassa, Itay Tiran