While I can appreciate the message that the director was trying to get through with this movie, while watching I was constantly reminded of how boring the movie was, and how I could be doing something better than watching it, for instance, watching fish in a tank.
The camera work was bad, the story... what story? And the little character development that was there didn't make any impression on me at all.
Being from Israel myself, I had very high hopes for this movie, but Gitai flat-out blew it.
Back to the point of the movie - I believe it was trying to portray how war is terrible, especially for the common soldier. However, Gitai failed on all accounts: firstly, the viewer never feels sorry for the main characters, because they're never in danger and never lose anyone they really care about. Secondly, in his crusade to portray war as terrible, he completely destroys the image of the Israeli army. Thirdly, and this is probably the most important, the main characters (Russo and Weinrub) don't die, but return home safely. It's as if, right at the end, Gitai spit on his message, and decided to create a new one: nightmares happen, but eventually they're over and life returns to the way it used to be.
Whatever you do, don't see this movie. Not only is it bad, but it's also plain boring. Movies are meant for entertainment, or for provoking thought, or both. This film provides neither.
The camera work was bad, the story... what story? And the little character development that was there didn't make any impression on me at all.
Being from Israel myself, I had very high hopes for this movie, but Gitai flat-out blew it.
Back to the point of the movie - I believe it was trying to portray how war is terrible, especially for the common soldier. However, Gitai failed on all accounts: firstly, the viewer never feels sorry for the main characters, because they're never in danger and never lose anyone they really care about. Secondly, in his crusade to portray war as terrible, he completely destroys the image of the Israeli army. Thirdly, and this is probably the most important, the main characters (Russo and Weinrub) don't die, but return home safely. It's as if, right at the end, Gitai spit on his message, and decided to create a new one: nightmares happen, but eventually they're over and life returns to the way it used to be.
Whatever you do, don't see this movie. Not only is it bad, but it's also plain boring. Movies are meant for entertainment, or for provoking thought, or both. This film provides neither.