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The Last Moment of Withdrawal
Based on a novel by Rom Leshem, BEAUFORT (Israel) revives the events that took place before Israeli troops withdrew from Lebanon in 2000. It touches on a very sensitive subject the controversial, long-running war between Israel and Lebanon. The troops stationed at the isolated Beaufort stronghold are obliged to defend their position until the last moment before withdrawing. Fear grips these young people who are already war-weary. They witness their buddies’ bloody death and injury from a relentless aerial bombardment. Explosions occur almost at random. No one knows who will be the next victim of the bloodshed. They keep asking each other why they’re here and what they’re meant to be doing.
The central character is Liraz, a 22-year-old who enjoys his role as an army officer. This young commander is more mature – and more complex – than his age. He must remain resolved to hold the fortress until the final stages. Sometimes he looks cold and dumb. At one point he just stands looking at his injured buddy crying for help desperately amid the smoke of an explosion. Liraz is accused by one soldier of not being worthy as a commander, as the orders and the circumstances change without warning. The differing opinions on defence and withdrawal are also metaphors for political divisions in contemporary Israel.
The film offers a sharp reflection on the first Lebanon War that lasted eighteen years from 1982 to 2000. In attempting to follow their orders and seize Beaufort at any cost, many innocent young people sacrifice their lives for a mere mountain, for a government that values that mountain as a symbol of victory more than its children’s lives.
Director Joseph Cedar once served as an infantry soldier in Lebanon between 1987 and 1989. And he knows exactly how to film the action with some impressive camerawork. The film ends with the eventual blowing-up of the mountain while young soldiers stare silently at the fire. Ishai Adar does an excellent job where the sound is concerned, while the solemn and stirring music exerts a strong emotional impact in evoking the tragic atmosphere of the war.
Alice Wang