Beaufort (2007)

User Rating:

6.8/10   

Director:

Joseph Cedar

Writers:

Joseph Cedar (writer)
Ron Leshem (novel) (screenplay)

Release Date:

18 January 2008 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Drama | War

Plot:

The story of a group of Israeli soldiers stationed in an outpost prior to the withdrawal of forces of 2000.

Plot Keywords:

Soldier | Israel | Lebanon | Middle East Conflict | One Word Title

Awards:

Nominated for Oscar. Another 5 wins & 8 nominations

Cast

Alon Abutbul	...	Kimchy
Alon Ben David
Daniel Brook	...	Pavel
Oshri Cohen	...	Liraz
Eli Eltonyo	...	Oshry
Gal Friedman	...	Balis
Nevo Kimchi	...	Avishai
Ohad Knoller	...	Ziv
Gidéon Levi
Arthur Perzev	...	Shpitzer
Ygal Resnik	...	Rubi
Itay Schor	...	Emilio
Zohar Shtrauss
Itay Tiran	...	Koris
Itay Turgeman	...	Zitlawy
Ami Weinberg	...	Amox Faran
Hanan Yishai	...	Nadav
Danny Zahavi	...	Meir

Also Known As:

Bufor (Israel: Hebrew title)

Runtime:

131 min

Country:

Israel

Language:

Hebrew

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

USA:Unrated | Sweden:11 | Singapore:NC-16 | Finland:K-13

Filming Locations:

Nimrud Castle, Golan Heights, Israel

Company:

Keshet Broadcasting

Trivia:

Israel's official submission in the Foreign Language Film category for the 80th Academy Awards (2008). It was submitted after Bikur Ha-Tizmoret (2007) was disqualified by AMPAS (see Trivia there).

Quotes:

Shpitzer: [while playing electric keyboard and singing a song in memory of Zitlawy] # I won't be afraid to fall / Won't be afraid to grow / To sink or swim / To live or die #

Movie Connections:

Featured in The 80th Annual Academy Awards (2008) (TV)

Saw it in Tel Aviv in April--very much worth the effort of tracking it down

Considering the sanitized pulp that the United States military participates in the filming of, it is refreshing to see a movie about soldiers that rings true and does not shy away from controversy. The IDF must also be commended for actively participating in the making of a film that does not shine the best light on the occupation of southern Lebanon.

Ultimately it is Israeli politicians and inept commanders that take the brunt of the blame for the appalling conditions the soldiers portrayed in this movie endure while holding on to their mountain top position.

Hezbollah obviously plays a part in this story, yet they are an unseen presence. They are always just out of the frame and sporadically, sometimes shockingly so, they remind everyone involved of their lethal potential.

Set aside your preconceived notions of the Israeli-Arab conflict and see this movie.