This film profiles
three young Israeli high school graduates and two of their officers. The young men have been recruited to
serve in the army paratrooper brigade to fulfill their compulsory military
service. This event is viewed as a
rite of passage into Israeli society.
Private Oren Giladi is a young volunteer soldier from Switzerland. Private Mekonan Abebe is an Ethiopian
immigrant volunteer. Private Eilon
Cohen has a lot to learn to become a successful soldier. First Lieutenant Eden Adler is a
commander and this is his first assignment. Coral Amarani as the unit commander is a female sergeant who
originally planned to evade army service.
Most of the private’s have never handled a weapon and they don’t
understand the dangers of combat.
This film is very
interesting plus educational. It follows the countdown of the number of days involved in the
training process. The families are
also featured and they relate their feelings about the military service. The common denominator of the group is
their shared values of protecting their homes, peace, equality, opportunity,
democracy, religious tolerance and also the rights of women. Israel is small in size as a country and
always facing the imminent danger of attack from outside countries. Lebanon is to the north, Syria to the
northeast, Jordan and the West Bank to the East, Egypt and the Gaza Strip to
the southwest. 4* (I really liked this movie)
80 min, Doc
directed by Wayne Kopping.
Note: Imdb 8 out of 10, Amazon Video 5* with
12 reviews, Letterboxd average 2.5* out of 5*.
Special
Note: Conscription exists in
Israel for all Israeli citizens over the age of 18 who are Jewish, Druze or
Circassian. Arab citizens of
Israel are not conscripted.
Sweden, Thailand and Venezuela also have compulsory military
service. In the United States, all
men between 18-25 must register in the Selective Service System. This is so that conscription can be
enacted should the need for it arise.
No comments:
Post a Comment