David Silber Movies

A handful of soldiers take a claustrophobic journey into the heart of war in this drama from Israeli writer and director Samuel Maoz. It's June 1982, and Israel is launching an invasion of Lebanon. Four men assigned to take part in the first strike are put on the same tank detail -- Assi (Itay Tiran) is the commanding officer, Shmulik (Yoav Donat) is a gunner new to the outfit, Hertzel (Oshri Cohen) keeps the weapons loaded, and Yigal (Michael Moshonov) drives the machine. After being given their orders by Jamil (Zohar Strauss), the men set out toward the Lebanese border, recognizing little of what goes on outside beyond what can be seen through Yigal's tiny window; they occasionally stop to help fellow Israelis hurt in battle, but for the most part, they roll relentlessly onward, occasionally arguing amongst themselves, until they arrive at their destination, a town already bombed into rubble by the Israeli Air Force. Few of their allies remain in the city, putting the soldiers in a perilous situation when a band of Syrian resistance fighters lays siege to the tank. Levanone (aka Lebanon) was an official selection at the 2009 Venice International Film Festival. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

Widow and empty nester Salma Zidane lives on the Palestinian West Bank, in a little house flanked by lemon trees planted by her great grand parents. Unfortunately, when the Israeli minister of defense builds a house adjacent to her own, her lemon trees are deemed a security risk. Salma hires a lawyer to prevent the powerful man from having her ancestral trees removed, but the odds are stacked against her, and to make matters worse, she begins to fall in love with her lawyer. Things seem bleak, but it looks like hope could shine in from an unexpected source, when the minister's neglected wife develops sympathy for Salma's plight. ~ Cammila Collar, Rovi

The title of Joseph Cedar's war drama Beaufort refers to the name of a fortress held by Israeli troops, during that country's contentious occupation of Lebanon from 1982-2000 -- an effort that Israel roundly lost. The film itself opens at the tail end of that occupation. It follows Liraz Liberti, the then-22-year-old leader of troops occupying Beaufort, as he and his subordinates come face to face with the necessity of withdrawal. As enemy fire bombards the fortress, Liraz recognizes that it will be necessary to evacuate, obliterating the structure that his men have spent two decades defending. Oshri Cohen, Itay Tiran, Eli Eltonyo, and Ohad Knoller co-star. ~ Nathan Southern, Rovi

Within the Orthodox Jewish Community, the attitudes toward females have remained virtually unchanged for 2,000 years. In this religious-themed drama, accomplished Israeli filmmaker Avi Nesher explores the complications that arise when the relationships between a group of women residing in a midrasha (all female seminary) in Safed turn suddenly volatile. Every girl has a different motivation for enrolling in the midrasha: for Naomi (Ania Bukstein) enrollment in the seminary meant avoiding a marriage that she didn't want, and for the rebellious Michelle (Michal Shtamler) it was simply an effective means for her parents to keep her out of serious trouble. Unlikely allies at first, Naomi and Michelle soon forge a powerful bond that is later threatened by the ailing Anouk (Fanny Ardant). Anouk is a much older woman who has come to Safed in search of redemption. Despite her outward sincerity, however, Anouk is quickly turned away by the powers that be. Realizing that the brilliant Naomi can certainly find the kabbalistic texts that could restore Anouk's purity, compassionate Michelle volunteers her scholarly friend to help the desperate woman in her time of need. While her initial hesitation is soon compounded by the fact that the head mistress forbids both students from any further contact with the mysterious Anouk, Naomi selflessly vows to expunge the sins of Anouk's past even if it means putting her own future at risk. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

A hotel cook who longs to eschew the demands of her job and highly eccentric family furtively dreams of becoming a successful writer in writer/director Shemi Zarhin's award-winning family drama. Between struggling to keep up with orders in the kitchen, tending to the quirky peccadilloes of her three children, and acknowledging the multiple suicide threats made by her unstable mother, aspiring writer Aviva Cohen (Assi Levy) barely has enough time to take the cap off of her pen - much less put that pen to paper and get her stories published. When Aviva's successful sister Anita (Rotem Abuhav) introduces her star-struck sibling to famous author Oded Zar (Sason Gabai) it appears as if things may be finally turning around for the hapless literary wannabe. Unfortunately for Aviva, Oded is suffering from a bad case of writer's block. Soon after accepting Oded's offer to serve as her personal writing tutor, Aviva begins to realize that the man whom she once idolized and who deviously assumed the guise of benevolent mentor is little more than a creatively devoid plagiarist. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi