Starring Oshri Cohen, Itay Tiran. Written by Joseph Cedar, Ron Leshem.
Directed by Joseph Cedar. (14A) 127 min. Opens Aug 22 at the Royal, 608
College.
An Oscar nominee last year for Best Foreign Language Film, Joseph Cedar’s Beaufort is an uncommonly claustrophobic war film: it unfolds almost entirely in a 12th-century fort in Southern Lebanon that’s been modified into a bunker by Israeli Defense Forces seeking a foothold in the region. Those aware of the location’s real-life fate will have a pretty good idea of where Beaufort is going by the end, but Cedar — who co-wrote the script with novelist Ron Leshem — works diligently to maintain suspense.
For the first half hour or so, he succeeds: the opening movements of Beaufort, which detail the arrival of an off-site bomb expert to clear the road leading to the castle, have real, coiled intensity. Things slacken a bit once we head back inside the compound, where the soldiers talk of the conflict’s impending end and their attendant evacuation; it’s a little too clear that we’re in the eye of the storm, and the various exchanges about the group’s hopes, dreams and etc. have an unpleasant, rib-nudging quality. The rhythm — monologue/rocket attack/monologue — grows tiresome and the actors, though physically well-cast, don’t have much to do but look frightened under fire and stricken when tending to their fallen comrades.