Beaufort (2007)

The story of a group of Israeli soldiers stationed in an outpost prior to the withdrawal of forces of 2000.

Director:

Joseph Cedar

Writers:

Joseph Cedar, Ron Leshem (novel)

Stars:

Alon Aboutboul, Adi Adouan, Ya'akov Ahimeir

Nominated for 1 Oscar. Another 5 wins & 8 nominations.

Cast

Credited cast:
Alon Aboutboul	...	Brigadier-General Kimchi, division commander
Adi Adouan
Ya'akov Ahimeir	...	Himself (as Yaakov Ahimeir)
Guy Apriat
Avi Ayoun
Itamar Barzani
Daniel Bednar
Alon Ben David	...	Himself
Moshe Ben Shushan
Yaniv Ben Yitzhak
Yoav Bertan
Avi Bitton
Daniel Bruck	...	Pavel
Roi Carmel
Daniel Cedar

Storyline

BEAUFORT tells the story of LIRAZ LIBERTI, the 22 year-old outpost commander, and his troops in the months before Israel pulled out of Lebanon. This is not a story of war, but of retreat. This is a story with no enemy, only an amorphous entity that drops bombs from the skies while terrified young soldiers must find a way to carry out their mission until their very last minutes on that mountaintop. As LIRAZ lays the explosives which would destroy that very same structure that his friends had died defending, he witnesses the collapse of all he's been taught as an officer, and his soldier's mental and physical disintegration.

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Plot Keywords:

soldier | officer | bomb | israeli soldier | israeli | 

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Genres:

Action | Drama | War

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Certificate:

Unrated

Details

Official Sites:

Metropolitan Films [France] Official site [Israel]

Country:

Israel

Language:

Hebrew

Release Date:

18 January 2008 (USA)

Also Known As:

Bufor

Filming Locations:

Nimrud Castle, Golan Heights, Israel

Box Office

Budget:

$2,500,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$9,267, 20 January 2008, Limited Release

Gross USA:

$101,299, 1 June 2008

Company Credits

Production Co:

United King Films, Metro Communications, Movie Plus

Technical Specs

Runtime:

131 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby SR Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The lead actor, Oshri Cohen (Liraz), did not serve on the IDF (Israeli Defence Force).

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Quotes

Shpitzer: [while playing electric keyboard and singing a song in memory of Zitlawy] # I won't be afraid to fall / Won't be afraid to grow / To sink or swim / To live or die #

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Connections

Featured in A History of Israeli Cinema (2009)

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Soundtracks

Avot u-Banim
(Fathers and Sons)
Written by Eviatar Banai
Performed by Arthur Perzev

User Reviews

Very strong with a few superficial flaws

In 1982, Israel was forced to invade southern Lebanon in self defense after repeated attacks. But after holding a buffer zone for 18 years, with increasing casualties caused by a strengthening Hezbollah, the army's presence there began to seem pointless.

This is a story about soldiers stationed at an outpost in Lebanon just before the eventual withdrawal in 2000. It manages to raise many valid moral and existential questions without getting preachy or politically partisan. Beaufort is a strong film that really sticks in your mind afterwards. The dialogues spoken by the soldiers is very true to life and the movie is highly authentic in every respect. It is well directed, the cast is good across the board, and the visuals are persuasive and gripping. But most of all, Beaufort succeeds in giving you a real sense of the fear and suspense of being a sitting duck for Hezbollah rocket-launchers to fire at. It is utterly nerve-wrecking.

Minor flaws include the customary setting-up of a character's personality just before he gets killed, to make you mourn his loss more, but such obvious manipulations are few and don't significantly hurt the movie.