Lebanon

During the 1982 Lebanon War, a lone tank with four young soldiers is dispatched to search a hostile town that has already been bombarded by the Israeli Air Force. The 20-something boys operating this killing machine have never fought in a war, and they are pushed to their mental limits as they struggle to survive in a situation they cannot contain and simultaneously try to retain their humanity in the chaos of war. Winner of the Golden Lion at the Venice Film Festival, this raw and visceral anti-war drama from Israel was inspired by filmmaker Samuel Maoz's personal experiences as a novice serving in the Israeli army in Lebanon in 1982. Restricting the action to the tank's interior and showing us the outside world as the young soldiers see it, through the periscope of the gun-sight, Maoz evokes a tense, claustrophobic world that draws comparison to such classics as Das Boot and The Hurt Locker. Rated R. In Hebrew, Arabic, French, English with English subtitles. With Yoav Donat, Itay Tiran, Oshri Cohen, Michael Moshonov. Writer/Director: Samuel Maoz. (Israel 2009) 94 min.