Beaufort (film): Difference between revisions
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'''''Beaufort''''' (original {{lang-he|'''בופור'''}}, pronounced ''Bufor'') is a [[2007 in film|2007]] [[Academy Award]] nominated [[Israeli film]]. The [[war film]] was directed by [[Joseph Cedar]] |
'''''Beaufort''''' (original {{lang-he|'''בופור'''}}, pronounced ''Bufor'') is a [[2007 in film|2007]] [[Academy Award]] nominated [[Israeli film]]. The [[war film]] was directed by [[Joseph Cedar]] and was co-written by Cedar and [[Ron Leshem]], based on Leshem's prized [[novel]], ''[[Beaufort (novel)|Beaufort]]''. |
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<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.randomhouse.com/catalog/display.pperl?isbn=9780553806823 |title=Beaufort - Random House |accessdate=2008-01-24 |publisher=''[[Random House]]''}}</ref> The film is about an [[Israel Defense Forces|IDF]] unit stationed at the [[Beaufort Castle, Lebanon|Beaufort]] post in [[Southern Lebanon]] during the [[1982–2000 South Lebanon conflict|South Lebanon conflict]], and their commander, Liraz Librati, who was the last commander of the Beaufort castle before the [[Israeli Security Zone#Withdrawal|Israeli withdrawal in 2000]]. |
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==Overview== |
==Overview== |
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Revision as of 10:23, 24 January 2008
| Beaufort | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Directed by | Joseph Cedar |
| Written by | Joseph Cedar & Ron Leshem |
| Produced by | Moshe Edery |
| Starring | Alon Abutbul Eli Altonio Oshri Cohen Itay Turgeman Itay Tiran Ohad Knoller |
| Cinematography | Ofer Inov |
| Edited by | Zohar M. Sela |
| Distributed by | United King Films & Kino International Corp. |
Release date |  March 8, 2007 |
Running time | 125 min |
| Country | Israel |
| Language | Hebrew |
| Budget | US$2 million (estimated) |
Beaufort (original Hebrew: בופור, pronounced Bufor) is a 2007 Academy Award nominated Israeli film. The war film was directed by Joseph Cedar and was co-written by Cedar and Ron Leshem, based on Leshem's prized novel, Beaufort. [1] The film is about an IDF unit stationed at the Beaufort post in Southern Lebanon during the South Lebanon conflict, and their commander, Liraz Librati, who was the last commander of the Beaufort castle before the Israeli withdrawal in 2000.
Overview
Beaufort's plot takes place in the year 2000, the year of the IDF withdrawal from southern Lebanon. The setting is the 12th century Crusader stronghold of Beaufort Castle in southern Lebanon, just prior to Israel's withdrawal from that country in 2000. Israel's sudden withdrawal from Beaufort and Lebanon after 18 years of occupation is the backdrop for Cedar's film, which outlines the daily routine of a group of soldiers, their feelings and their fears, and explores their moral dilemmas in the days preceding the withdrawal.
The film's director, himself an IDF veteran who was stationed in Lebanon, uses the stone walls of Beaufort castle as a symbol of the futility and endlessness of war. The film was shot spring of 2006 at Nimrod Fortress, a similar mountaintop Crusader fort in northern Israel. Ironically, filming was completed in June, just a month before the second war in Lebanon broke out.
Reception
Critical
As of January 23, 2008, the review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes reported that 85% of critics gave Beaufort positive reviews, based on 13 reviews. [2]
A. O. Scott of The New York Times claimed that Even if it does not entirely rise above cliché, "Beaufort" has an earnest, sober intelligence that makes it hard to shake. It suggests that, for those who fight, the futility of war is inseparable from its nobility. [3] Some reviews compare the film's concept and look to those of Letters from Iwo Jima. [4] The film gained mostly very positive reviews in Israel.
Commercial
Beaufort is one of the most successful Israeli films of the 2000's. It made more than $500,000 in the first 3 weeks of its release in the Israeli market, a substantial amount for a domestic Israeli film. Since its release, it was viewed by over 300,000 viewers in Israel.
Awards and nominations
Joseph Cedar has won the Silver Bear in the Berlin International Film Festival for directing Beaufort, which is his third film. The film is currently nominated for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film [5], the first Academy Award nomination for an Israeli film since Beyond the Walls (1984). In Israel it won 4 Ofir Academy Awards, but lost the best picture award to The Band's Visit. The Band's Visit's status as a foreign language film has been rejected because it contains over 50% dialogs in English, which has caused the runner-up Beaufort to become Israel's submission instead.
Controversy
The casting has raised serious public criticism in Israel, especially from families of slain soldiers and war veterans, given the fact that three of the leading roles were played by Oshri Cohen, Itay Tiran, and Itay Turgeman, who are all actors who did not fully, or at all, serve in the Israeli army.
References
- ^ "Beaufort - Random House". Random House. Retrieved 2008-01-24.
{{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=(help) - ^ "Beaufort - Rotten Tomatoes". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved 2008-01-23.
{{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=(help) - ^ "Israeli Soldiers Man a Fortress of Futility". The New York Times. Retrieved 2008-01-23.
{{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=(help) - ^ "Beaufort - New York Magazine". New York Magazine. Retrieved 2008-01-23.
{{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=(help) - ^ "80th Academy Awards® Nominations Announced" (Press release). Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. 2008-01-22. Retrieved 2008-01-22.
{{cite press release}}: Check date values in:|date=(help)
