Foxtrot (2017)

A troubled family must face the facts when something goes terribly wrong at their son's desolate military post.

Director:

Samuel Maoz

Writer:

Samuel Maoz

Stars:

Lior Ashkenazi, Sarah Adler, Yonaton Shiray

19 wins & 20 nominations.

Cast

Credited cast:
Lior Ashkenazi	...	Michael Feldman
Sarah Adler	...	Daphna Feldman
Yonaton Shiray	...	Jonathan (as Yonathan Shiray)
Shira Haas	...	Alma
Eden Gamliel	...	Maria
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Dekel Adin	...	Squad
Yehuda Almagor	...	Avigdor - Michael's Brother
Shaul Amir	...	Squad
Gefen Barkai	...	Squad
Ran Buxenbaum	...	Squad B
Rami Buzaglo	...	Driver of the toy van
Eden Daniel	...	A boy in the back seat
Yael Eisenberg	...	Female Soldier
Itay Exlroad	...	Dancing Soldier
Eden Gmliel	...	A girl in the back seat

Storyline

Michael and Dafna are devastated when Army officials show up at their home to announce the death of their son Jonathan. While his sedated wife rests, Michael spirals into a whirlwind of anger only to experience one of life's unfathomable twists, which rival the surreal military experiences of his son.

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Plot Keywords:

foreign occupation | jarhead | bare breasts | female nipple | ejaculation | 

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Genres:

Drama

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

rated R for some sexual content including graphic images, and brief drug use

Did You Know?

Trivia

The film was screened in the competition section of the 74th Venice International Film Festival where it won the Grand Jury Prize Silver Lion.

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Connections

References Who Framed Roger Rabbit (1988)

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Soundtracks

Light Away
Performed by Betzefer

User Reviews

Act one not so good; acts two and three very good

'Foxtrot' begins with a woman, Dafna (Sarah Adler), opening her front door, seeing who is on the doorstep and immediately fainting. Moments later her husband Michael (Lior Ashkenazi, possibly Israel's busiest actor) is told by three members of the Israel Defence Forces (IDF) that his and Dafna's son Jonathan has been killed on military service. The IDF take over everything, arranging the funeral, dispensing sedatives to Dafna and setting alarms on Michael's telephone to remind him to drink every hour. Then the scene shifts and we are at Jonathan's lonely desert outpost, where the soldiers - when not sleeping and eating in a slowly-sinking shipping container - man a grubby checkpoint used most regularly by an unaccompanied camel. A final scene change brings us back to Dafna and Michael on what would have been Jonathan's twentieth birthday.

I found the middle and final segments the most interesting: although not a lot happens at the checkpoint, the segment set there is an interesting study on how boys from comfortable middle-class backgrounds cope when handed guns and forced to live in squalor. The bereaved parents' conversation in the third segment, in which we see how their loss has affected their relationship, is terribly bittersweet. By contrast, the first segment has a curiously episodic feel to it that may be intended to convey how Michael stumbles through the hours immediately after learning of his son's death, but I found rather jarring. On the whole, though, this slow-moving film is well worth watching.

Details

Official Sites:

Official Facebook Official site [Germany]

Country:

Israel Switzerland Germany France

Language:

Hebrew German

Release Date:

21 September 2017 (Israel)

Also Known As:

Foxtrot

Filming Locations:

Tel Aviv, Israel

Box Office

Opening Weekend USA:

$31,629, 4 March 2018

Gross USA:

$618,883

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$1,356,159

Company Credits

Production Co:

Spiro Films, Pola Pandora Filmproduktions, A.S.A.P.

Technical Specs

Runtime:

113 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1