Israel (2007): Action/Drama/War

In a small enclave, an isolated cage in the heart of enemy territory, in the back yard of a magnificent ancient Crusader fortress, stands the Beaufort outpost. Beaufort personified the most disputed of Israel's wars and was a symbol of Israeli control in Lebanon, but it was also a myth of heroism upon which generations were raised and for which many lost their lives. There, on the mountaintop, completely cut off from anything familiar, was a boy-soldier's state - with its own rules and colorful language, where fear reigned but youthful innocence and happiness, too, had a hold.

That was the way things were until May 24, 2000. On that night the outpost was demolished - blown up with a thousand mines. A huge explosion lit up the sky as the Israeli army withdrew and 18 years of occupation came to an end.

While Beaufort is an accurate account of the events that occurred on the Beaufort in the months before the Israeli withdrawal, it is also the story of any battle in any war: it's about young people who are asked to give their lives for a mountain that will soon lose its significance. And it's about fear: contagious, intoxicating, palpable fear... a word the young Israeli commander never allowed himself to utter.

Based on the novel by Ron Leshem - Im Yesh Gan Eden; written for by Joseph Cedar (writer) and Ron Leshem (screenplay); directed by Joseph Cedar; produced by David Mandil, Chilik Michaeli and Dudi Zilber. (Distributed in the US by Kino International Corp. - Web site)

   · Best Foreign Language Film of the Year 2007: A Metro Communications, Movie Plus Production (Israel)

1 nomination