Time Off

Stumbling accidentally upon this charming little film in a student film festival in the early 90's, I had the rare pleasure of watching it without any prior idea what it's about. Being closeted at the time, it made an enormous impact on me back then.

The plot focuses on the tense interactions between a young soldier and his supervising commander in an Israeli army combat unit. The unit receives an afternoon leave ("after") in Jerusalem, before going up to Lebanon on a combat mission, and the film tells the story of this leave's events.

Watching it again lately, I still found it highly moving: compact, precise and very well directed and played. I still think it is one of the best gay films I have ever watched. I'm sure it is not easy to come by, but it's highly worth the effort. A must see!