MOVIE: LEBANON

War films occasionally over-glamorise combat – fetishising every explosion, every round of ammunition fired, at the expense of any complexity. Lebanon, the 2009 Golden Lion winner, is different. Drawing upon his experience as an Israeli conscript, director Samuel Maoz underscores his anti-war film with a gritty authenticity that will leave viewers rattled, but also wiser. In June 1982, four inexperienced Israeli soldiers are herded into a tank and ordered to locate hostiles in a Lebanese town laid to waste by an air raid. Although they try to remain brave, the gravity of the situation eats away at their mental resolve. Set entirely within the grimy, oppressive interior of a lumbering killing machine, Lebanon is an overwhelmingly claustrophobic affair. However, some relief is provided infrequently by Maoz’s clever use of the tank’s periscope to show snippets of the outside world. The film is certainly bleak, but its frank performances will resonate with viewers – anxieties are palpable, but an unspoken comradery provides warmth. Lebanon, like Waltz with Bashir or even HBO’s Generation Kill, explores the profound toll war takes on the human spirit. (JH) ****