Platicsco Good story, Not enough for a whole film

Ceticultsot Beautiful, moving film.

Jonah Abbott There's no way I can possibly love it entirely but I just think its ridiculously bad, but enjoyable at the same time.

Fleur Actress is magnificent and exudes a hypnotic screen presence in this affecting drama.

Kaleidoscope I wanted to love this movie, because I was blown away by the book. Obviously, I came away disappointed. Beaufort isn't a bad movie by any means--it's well-acted, has some excellent cinematography, and builds a great deal of tension in many of its tightly executed scenes. However, the film's two hours do not seem to have been enough to fully develop its myriad of characters, which was the novel's greatest strength. The relationships between characters are unclear; when characters are killed, their fellows in the film mourn them, but the audience has not had enough time to grow attached in the same way.Part of the problem may be that the film lacks the unique narration of the main character, Erez, that helped to make the novel so engaging. Perhaps another is that the film tries to follow the novel too closely-- it may be heresy to suggest, but perhaps an adaptation that strayed more from the source material might have succeeded more in establishing character and an emotional resonance with the audience.Beaufort is still an interesting film--few other war movies achieve this level of claustrophobia and paranoia, and, as I mentioned, the acting is solid (at least, as far as I can tell without being able to speak Hebrew). Unfortunately, it pales in comparison to the source material.

vostf Beaufort doesn't pretend to cater for all audiences, right. It only aims to be a rendition of how the soldiers lived (and occasionally died) in the Beaufort outpost during the final days of the 18-year Israeli presence there. I reckon this rendition is really good: dialog, characters, actors, settings, photography.Yet the movie is totally uninteresting: doesn't provide insight on the conflict, on human nature... on anything with a larger scope than Israeli soldiers on duty there and then. You know, soldiers have to be very special characters or to do something really special, else they are only public servants working their shift until it's time to come home. Maybe people in Israel will like Beaufort because it speaks of themselves and for themselves but universally speaking it is a very anecdotal movie, thus almost entirely uninteresting.

Rachel Enevoldsen This film has just been aired on the Copenhagen International Film Festival and of all the Israeli films available, this was the one I was - not - going to see, and yet I did. It is still only a few days, since I saw it, but the images return and the sheer originality in terms of being a 'war movie' coupled with the usual Jewish genius of making a point: in short comment, dry humor, body language, tone of voice, well chosen repetition i.e. the monotonous, almost dead, tone over a loudspeaker from the lookouts stationed to warn against 'incoming, incoming' missiles, which after explosion were commented on by,'impact, impact'. After the third or fourth of these 'scenes' I suddenly felt a wave of claustrophobia and fear, which these young Israeli soldiers must have felt being stuck on a mountain top, without a visual enemy, and only lookouts to rely on for their own lives and safety, 'incoming, incoming' - crash, bang -'impact, impact' - it was unnerving. This film is a must for anyone - also those who like me, are not war buffs, because it is not about war. It is about a lot of things. Reality, how to handle anxiety, frustration, loss, grief, in a tight and stuck environment, with no relief in sight, (Israel itself?) It is about individuality in terms of different personalities, backgrounds, political opinions who have to make it work and who do in their own humorous, gentle, aggressive, accepting way. It is about men and a male attitude which I have not witnessed for over thirty years,(and sorely missed); the honesty and humanity of men, and it is about exile. The one lifeline to the home country; a dirt road, has been blocked by a strange explosive device for about a month, and this is where the film starts, with the bomb squad arriving at the outpost, to identify and disarm the device, so that the outpost can receive supplies once again...and a whole 'different' story is touched upon. I could go on for hours about this film, and not in a very logical way, since all the 'points' haven't been connected yet, it has so many layers. This what I call genius - 'layering' and this is what I look for in Israeli film and this year it was Beaufort, who delivered. Go and see it.

circusanimals I just saw this last night at the Sydney Film Festival and want to let you know what I thought about it. It is a movie about boredom, fear and leadership, set - as I understand it - in the last days of the Israeli occupation of the buffer zone in Southern Lebanon. The Beaufort of the title is a hilltop fortress used a forward position by the Israeli Defense Forces, and, as the name suggests, was built by the Crusaders in the 12th Century. Because of its history, the site is respected or sacred to both Israel and the Arabs, and has become a symbol of bravery. For that reason, both sides try to ensure the ruins of the original fortress are not damaged, and it becomes a character in the movie as the leader of the small group soldiers left to defend it describes how he feels almost physically prevented from leaving. The scene of the soldiers finally departing has the feeling of a captain wanting to go down with his ship. To get to that point though, the soldiers must survive in their cramped conditions against the increasing attacks by the unseen Hezbollah - who want to make the Israeli withdrawal look like a Hezbollah victory, the indecision and delays from their superiors - who may be waiting for a political solution as they face pressure from the Four Mothers Movement to remove troops from the Security Zone, and their own isolation - especially as any attempt at character development results in that character being the next one to die. And there is humour to illustrate the futility of their mission, as two Shakespearean characters explain that they are "guarding the mountain...so it doesn't escape."It is a political movie: made clear with the intervention of the father of one of the dead soldiers. In fact, I understand that a representative of the Israeli government was booed during his introduction of the movie (which I missed) at the Sydney Film Festival. Was anyone there? What did he say?I'll leave it others in this forum to discuss the politics and reality of the events, but, judging it as a piece of movie making, it is well-written, well-acted, and well-directed, and deserves to do well at the box office. Seek it out.