The image of the poster one sheet below is taken from an a film sequence that symbolically addresses the process of denaturalization in the act of war, and if I push the theory further with the sum of what is experienced with the entire film, it’s highlights the polemic differences found not on enemy lines, but what is manifested with a still wet behind the ears, foursome of shell-shocked military troops. The tank resting in a bed of flowers is also only time you’ll see the outsides of this war vehicle, as Samuel Maoz’s Lebanon – a war drama I liken to the Das Boot like experience, keeps viewers inside the confines of this moving war machine.
Continuing in the tradition of anti-war films from Israel such as Beaufort and Waltz With Bashir, a little more than a year ago at the 66th edition of the Venice Film Festival, Lebanon was honored with the Golden Lion, but due to a scheduling and voting technicality, Ajami would represent Israel as the country’s Oscar’s Best Foreign Picture category. Maoz’s gut-wrenching, first-person account (via the foursome) finds itself with this August 6th release date and if you ask me, SPC’s Michael Barker and Tom Bernard’s find is flying way too under the radar.
