Lebanon

Film distribution in Britain is hardly awash with Israeli product and yet by one of those curious quirks of fate I've ended up seeing *two* Israeli movies in as many days. Lebanon might be the higher profile of the pair but I much preferred the tender and sad Eyes Wide Open. Lebanon's concept of confining the action to the tank's interior while limited the outside world to what can be seen through the tank's viewfinder sounds like an intriguing premise. It does indeed convey the squalor and claustrophobia of the 4 soldiers, but the zooms of the viewfinder rapidly start to feel like a gimmick instead of a valid artistic choice. In fact at times it becomes worryingly voyeuristic, focussing on the distressed or lifeless faces of the Lebanese. There's no attempt to put the war in context, and like Waltz with Bashir, it pretty much lets the Israelis off the hook. The complicity of central command with the Phalangists is the exception. Their brutality inevitably conjures up the spectre of Sabra and Shatila but otherwise it's a thoroughly inward-looking film.