Since 1973 the traditional Israel Independence Day military parade has been stopped, instead replaced by a more low-key Torch Lighting Ceremony, a flag ceremony and a symbolic military parade, occurring annually on Mount Herzl in Jerusalem. In this film we join retired Colonel David Rokni as he marks both the year of his 80th birthday, and also his 30th time of commanding the ceremony. We follow Rokni through the organization, rehearsing and delivery of the ceremony.
As a subject, this film is a hard sell and if you just read that plot summary on Netflix or in the TV guide then I guess many people would think "tomorrow maybe" and watch something else. This would be a shame because The Ceremony is a quite wonderful film because of how well delivered it is. I was surprised by how brightly it started, mainly because I was already a little aware of some of the events that, by terrible chance, unfolded on the year that a documentary crew were making this film. Despite this, the opening half has a really enjoyable light touch; frequently funny in terms of presentation, with good judgment used in the edit and scene selection. The use of a military beat while Rokni walks to his car is amusing, but made funnier by the sudden stop as he awkwardly pulls out into traffic. Likewise the access to the debates over the content and the message, with lots of animated characters is also enjoyable and amusing – although by far my favorite part was Rokni struggling with technology and marching back and forward to try to get a CD to work.
It is odd in a way, because it is very much in the style of a quirkumentary, where an event of perhaps low common interest, is made more interesting by virtue of focusing on an engaging or quirky character. This works and, although it is humorous, it does not trivialize – moments such as the precision of the graph-paper plan at the start, and the importance to Rokni of the ceremony, these are very clear in their intent and I as the viewer was taken in by them. This mix continues for the majority of the first half, with a sense of bubbly energy and humor, but not detracting from how seriously Rokni and others take it. However, around the halfway point the reality, and the film, changes – and here is where we have SPOILERS from here on in.
During one rehearsal, the lighting scaffolding collapses onto the practice area, crushing several soldiers, and killing one instantly. Knowing this was coming, I did wonder how the film would cope with this since it had such a humorous tone. It dealt with it really well – and in retrospect you could see tonally that the film softened into it so that the shift was not jarring. Indeed if anything the light, accessible manner of the first half, meant that the viewer cares more. In particular the film honors Hila Bezaleli really well. The edit brings her into the film fairly – she is enthusiastic and proud and she sits well as a main "character" alongside Rokni – seeing her spirit and her pride is cheering, and personally it was really hard when her death came; I know nothing compared to the pain of those around her, but for me as a viewer, it hit hard – which shows how well the film did it. A friend of hers pays tribute, saying that she does not like to speak of the dead because it can feel like embellishing reality (but, she says, not in this case); likewise the film comes over as honest about Bezaleli – the footage shows her to be just what others say she is. It must also be said that the film handles the tragedy very tastefully – looking at the few stills of the collapse, it seems the whole thing was caught on camera, but wisely this is not used directly.
It is impressive how the film handles the shift, and it is a real credit to the editing process that it manages it as well as it does. The light, accessible approach of the first half makes sense, because it draws the viewer in and by the time the fatality happens, we are emotionally invested in Rokni, Bezaleli, and the ceremony that I knew nothing of 2 minutes before I started the film. From here the remainder of the film rides on this, and it adds humanity to the quirky characters and small ceremony we saw in the previous parts. As we care for Bezaleli so we care for Rokni and the others, and it is surprisingly moving to see people deal with this and fight through. The film could have chosen to end with the ceremony itself, with the fireworks and the display, which would have been understandably cheering. Instead it ends with a very low-key moment which I found brave and intensely delicate, and also keeping with the human but yet formal character of Rokni.
I have probably overpraised it here, because I came in half expecting a rather dry documentary. What I got though was a slight but really well judged film, which used humor to drawn the viewer into a story which ultimately became moving, human and thoughtful. It is a tragic but charming film, and for all its slightness in terms of the bigger picture, it is engaging and rewarding throughout.
As a subject, this film is a hard sell and if you just read that plot summary on Netflix or in the TV guide then I guess many people would think "tomorrow maybe" and watch something else. This would be a shame because The Ceremony is a quite wonderful film because of how well delivered it is. I was surprised by how brightly it started, mainly because I was already a little aware of some of the events that, by terrible chance, unfolded on the year that a documentary crew were making this film. Despite this, the opening half has a really enjoyable light touch; frequently funny in terms of presentation, with good judgment used in the edit and scene selection. The use of a military beat while Rokni walks to his car is amusing, but made funnier by the sudden stop as he awkwardly pulls out into traffic. Likewise the access to the debates over the content and the message, with lots of animated characters is also enjoyable and amusing – although by far my favorite part was Rokni struggling with technology and marching back and forward to try to get a CD to work.
It is odd in a way, because it is very much in the style of a quirkumentary, where an event of perhaps low common interest, is made more interesting by virtue of focusing on an engaging or quirky character. This works and, although it is humorous, it does not trivialize – moments such as the precision of the graph-paper plan at the start, and the importance to Rokni of the ceremony, these are very clear in their intent and I as the viewer was taken in by them. This mix continues for the majority of the first half, with a sense of bubbly energy and humor, but not detracting from how seriously Rokni and others take it. However, around the halfway point the reality, and the film, changes – and here is where we have SPOILERS from here on in.
During one rehearsal, the lighting scaffolding collapses onto the practice area, crushing several soldiers, and killing one instantly. Knowing this was coming, I did wonder how the film would cope with this since it had such a humorous tone. It dealt with it really well – and in retrospect you could see tonally that the film softened into it so that the shift was not jarring. Indeed if anything the light, accessible manner of the first half, meant that the viewer cares more. In particular the film honors Hila Bezaleli really well. The edit brings her into the film fairly – she is enthusiastic and proud and she sits well as a main "character" alongside Rokni – seeing her spirit and her pride is cheering, and personally it was really hard when her death came; I know nothing compared to the pain of those around her, but for me as a viewer, it hit hard – which shows how well the film did it. A friend of hers pays tribute, saying that she does not like to speak of the dead because it can feel like embellishing reality (but, she says, not in this case); likewise the film comes over as honest about Bezaleli – the footage shows her to be just what others say she is. It must also be said that the film handles the tragedy very tastefully – looking at the few stills of the collapse, it seems the whole thing was caught on camera, but wisely this is not used directly.
It is impressive how the film handles the shift, and it is a real credit to the editing process that it manages it as well as it does. The light, accessible approach of the first half makes sense, because it draws the viewer in and by the time the fatality happens, we are emotionally invested in Rokni, Bezaleli, and the ceremony that I knew nothing of 2 minutes before I started the film. From here the remainder of the film rides on this, and it adds humanity to the quirky characters and small ceremony we saw in the previous parts. As we care for Bezaleli so we care for Rokni and the others, and it is surprisingly moving to see people deal with this and fight through. The film could have chosen to end with the ceremony itself, with the fireworks and the display, which would have been understandably cheering. Instead it ends with a very low-key moment which I found brave and intensely delicate, and also keeping with the human but yet formal character of Rokni.
I have probably overpraised it here, because I came in half expecting a rather dry documentary. What I got though was a slight but really well judged film, which used humor to drawn the viewer into a story which ultimately became moving, human and thoughtful. It is a tragic but charming film, and for all its slightness in terms of the bigger picture, it is engaging and rewarding throughout.
