Lebanon

The drama "Lebanon", which won the "Golden Lion" at the 2009 Venice Film Festival, now brings to our cinemas one of the most interesting and, in many elements, enormously powerful war films, capable of capturing in a microcosm the horror of an entire war effort.

In the summer of 1982, amidst the turmoil of the First Lebanon War, a tank is sent on what is supposed to be a routine mission. Accompanied by a squad of paratroopers, the four young men, Shmulik, Assi, Herzl and Yigal, are to scout out an enemy town in their tank. But what begins as a simple tour with the usual occurrences soon turns out to be a deadly ambush. Trapped in the claustrophobic confines of their tank, the men are soon fighting for bare survival, for survival in a war where there seems to be no humanity left.

"Lebanon" does a first-rate job of making the audience feel the confinement, the heat, the fear that the film's four protagonists must endure. Director Samuel Maoz, who deals with his own traumatic experiences of the Lebanon war in the film, doesn't spare his audience for a second, doesn't allow them any time out to relax or catch their breath. His chamber play is quite great cinema, which knows how to say more in just a few words than many other films of this genre put together.

However, not all aspects of the film are truly successful. Contact with the outside world is only available to the occupants of the tank - and so to the audience - with the help of the viewfinder from the scope. And what is shown here could have been a bit more subtle. Again and again, people look accusingly or despairingly directly into the viewfinder, obviously aware of who is watching them. It's still very powerful and moving the first time, and it still is the second time, but after that this stylistic device increasingly loses its impact. Sure, it's absolutely clear why there has to be this direct eye contact. But really, it wouldn't have been needed at all to convey what is seen through the certain distance of the scope in a moving, powerful and also accusatory way.

This weak point, while only slightly distracting on balance, prevents "Lebanon" from becoming an all-around masterpiece. An oppressive drama, a strong (anti-)war film and an impressive piece of cinema Samuel Maoz has succeeded but in any case. Worth seeing

An article by Frankfurt-Tipp