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A troubled family must face the facts when something goes terribly wrong at their son’s desolate military post.
After winning the Grand Prize at the Venice film festival in 2009 with “Lebanon,” Israeli director Samuel Maoz returns to the big screen with “Foxtrot.” A poignant family drama with the specter of war hanging over its head like Damocles, reminiscent of a Greek tragedy. But don’t let this deter you from seeing it – “Foxtrot” is the most compelling film I’ve seen all year, but is also the most controversial.
Winner of 8 Israel Oscars and nominated in 5 other categories, “Foxtrot” is presented in three very disparate chapters. The first deals with the aftermath of Israeli soldiers showing up unexpectedly at the door of Michael (the always marvelous Lior Ashkenazi) and Dafna (Sarah Adler). Devastated by tragic news, the camera lingers on a close-up of Michael’s torment and misery.
The second chapter moves to the remote location where their son Jonathan (Yonatan Shiray) is stationed; a roadblock named Foxtrot in the middle of nowhere. There’s a little levity in this act as the camera follows the soldiers on their daily, monotonous routine. The mission of the soldiers stationed there is to inspect vehicles that cross the road, occasionally lifting the rickety gate to allow a wayward camel to make its way through the desert. Sheer boredom leads the soldiers to dance (the Foxtrot – of course!), read, draw and lament their decrepit living quarters. The metal container, which they call home, is slowly sinking. One of the many subtle (or not so subtle) metaphors presented in the film.
It’s at this junction that the film takes a horrifying turn that leads to a literal and figurative cover-up by the Israeli army. The third act returns to the home of Feldman’s in a twist that I won’t reveal in this review.
Writer and director Samuel Maoz conceived of the concept for this film when his own daughter was a high school student. She was always late for school, which meant she had to take an expensive taxi instead. Wanting to teach her a lesson, he told her to take a bus like everyone else. Half an hour after she departed for school he heard a news report that a terrorist had blown himself up on the same bus line that his daughter was scheduled to take. Dozens of people were reportedly hurt or killed. As fate would have it, she was late for that bus and had taken the next one. He thought about coincidences and consequences. Was the action in Foxtrot “bashert” (the Yiddish word meaning predestined) or just coincidence?
So what’s all the controversy surrounding “Foxtrot”? Apparently, the incident that occurs in the film at the roadblock never happened in reality. This coverup makes Israel look beastly on the world stage. Fact or fiction, Israel does not need any more bad PR. Some folks feel too many films being made in Israel are critical of the country and should not be made at all. But isn’t that censorship? However, in this instance, the fuss deals more with the money and its source. The notion is that if you make a film that criticizes Israeli in any way, then the government should not fund it – which in this instance it did. I understand that concept – but who makes that decision? And isn’t it subjective depending on where you stand on the political spectrum? This perhaps is a debate better suited for another article.
I don’t think Moaz set out to tell a story to embarrass the government and indeed he is lucky to live in a country where he can tell a story like this. I do believe he intended to make an anti-war statement about war in general; its aftermath and alienation. But if he touches on similar viewpoints in his next film, he will have to search elsewhere for funding.
“Foxtrot” is probably not a film for everyone, it’s pacing is slow and the subject matter is very difficult. But if you enjoy a well-told tale, high-intensity drama, and excellent performances, then “Foxtrot” should be on your short-list of films to see this weekend.
Now playing in select theaters
