My First War (2008) Movie Script

ENGINE

On July 12th 2006,

war broke out on the

northern border of Israel.

I am unexpectedly called

up to replace an officer

who abandoned the battlefield,

overcome by sudden anxieties.

Instinctively, I

grab my video camera

and place it in my backpack.

On this hot July day

we travel north on

deserted roads,

which during a regular summer

are packed with vehicles of

families and vacationers.

Now they have tank marks

and armored tracks.

The northern towns

look abandoned

and the higher up we advance,

the more the silence

becomes mixed

with alarming sounds of

explosions and sirens.

I reach the artillery regiment

deployed in the

area of farmlands,

close to the city

of Kiryat Shmona.

Mobile cannon barrels and

stacks of shells and ammunition

are positioned opposite

the pastoral landscapes

of northern Galilee.

Here, during summer vacations,

children and families row their

boats along the Jordan River.

I film the plums

and apples, some

of which are still on the trees,

while others are on the ground,

next to piles of discarded boxes

and parked military vehicles.

We do have fear. We do.

The war lies, it

feels like a lie.

We are stationed in a

rather pastoral place,

What are your expectations?

Fire alert!

We're on fire alert, Dudu.

SIREN

BOMB

Fire alert!

Let's put our helmets

on, then continue?

Wait a moment, I'll get mine.

BOMBING

SIRENS

The missile attacks

begin towards noon.

During the first days I still

don't realize their meaning

and the fact that our

lives are in danger.

The only order we are given

is to wear our helmets.

Beyond that, everyone

acts as they see fit.

In a split second decision, when

the explosions sound too close,

I get into the armored vehicle

and wait for them to end.

In the war room next to me,

commands are shouted out

to retaliate by opening fire.

RADIO STATIC

RADIO CHATTER

Come on, Ori, another target!

RADIO CHATTER

Seven, three, seven,

seven, six, eight...

I walk over to the cannons

in the battlefield.

I take a shoelace and make

a loop for my video camera

so I can hang it around my

neck, beside my rifle belt.

TANK SHELLING

I feel that only through the

camera can I absorb what I see.

The camera mediates between me

and the violence around me.

SHELLS BEING LOADED

Watch out! Fire!

SHOUTING

TANK SHELLING

An artillery

regiment is deployed

in the area next to ours.

This is where I

come across Ilan,

a 34 year old

regiment commander.

His voice is soft

and captivating

as he commands his soldiers.

About 500 missiles were

fired at Israel today -

Carmiel, Safed, Mt. Miron...

As I told you that first day,

it's clear we are at war,

and as this war progresses,

there are no rules.

We don't know where

it can take us.

All our batteries are

firing non-stop.

There's a chance one of our

batteries will be

inside Lebanon.

And when I decide which

battery it will be,

I will pick my best,

most professional

one and send it in first.

That's it. Look

after your lives.

My camera is drawn to the

look in his blue eyes,

a mix of beauty and toughness

that makes me think

of American actor Sean Penn.

Ilan has deployed his

troops in the field.

He shows me a paper he

handed out to his soldiers,

only one day after

the war broke out.

On it he had written:

"The regiment

must prepare for a

long war - weeks".

This was contrary to the

Chief of Staff's statement

that the war would

end within days.

This is the third

week of war and

Ilan is still

deploying his troops

and being told which targets

to shoot at in Lebanon.

Ilan's soldiers film a missile

battle that breaks

out in the area.

MISSLE SHOT

EXPLOSION

We're on fire alert.

Rockets... rockets are

falling endlessly.

In the background I hear

Ilan giving orders.

Rockets are falling

in the valley.

Positive, positive.

Rockets have started falling.

I'm on my way to "post 2".

Roger. I see them. Tell

everyone to take cover...

A rocket fell there too.

Can you see the smoke?

FIRE CRACKLING

SHELL FIRE

I've read about

battles in history

books. I like

watching war movies.

I never thought a day would

come when I would be part

of such a scene.

ALARM

RADIO STATIC

There, another rocket fall.

Don't film me! Don't film me!

Listen up, guys. We were on

the brink of death here.

- Tzur is really scared.

- I'm not scared,

I don't want him to film me.

It's bad luck! It's bad luck!

What do you mean "bad

luck"? God's with you...

Do you hear the fire?

Let's go put it out.

PLANE ENGINE

This war looks

like a video game.

These are not face

to face battles.

What does the enemy look

like? Who are we fighting?

Who are the victims?

Commander, "screwdriver"

here. Over.

We're evacuating him.

We obtained a target...

Seven, three, two, four, zero,

zero. Report when ready to fire.

Come on, come on! This

is new, fire at it!

Work calmly and

maintain order, over.

Roger. We are calm.

TANK SHELLING

During a break in the fighting,

I return to my regiment.

I walk among the soldiers.

It is their faces that will

remain my real memories

of the battlefield.

Religious missionaries

make use of the quiet.

Why is a non-believer

putting on a tefillin

in the middle of a battlefield?

OPERATIC MUSIC FROM RADIO

Murmurs of Prayer merge with an

opera song from a near by radio.

OPERA ON RADIO

RADIO STATIC

OPERATIC MUSIC

ARMY VEHICLE ENGINE

I go to Kiryat Shmona

in the evening.

I'm an Armament

officer responsible

for the cannons maintenance.

This obliges me to move

from one place to another.

The rocket attacks

cease at night

and the soldiers and few

civilians who remain in the town

can walk out for a

breath of fresh air.

Kiryat Shmona, the most

northern city in Israel,

has endured rocket launches and

terrorist attacks

for many years.

After a period of quiet,

hundreds of rockets a day

are once again

launched on the city,

a record amount unlike any

other the city has known.

The soldiers tell me that Ilan

arranged to have his

brother in law,

Israeli famous pop star Eyal

Golan, sing for the regiment,

to raise the troops' morale.

I am going to look for

the military post.

First of all, thanks for coming,

I really appreciate it.

Eyal, come here.

APPLAUSE

I asked you to

come here to sing.

The fact that you agreed

shows how much you love me.

MUSIC

You think I am strange

and irritable

And you say that I

am not quite myself.

It could be

because of love

What it does to the soul.

You are the light in my

eyes, a big beautiful smile

You are so pretty you

make my heart cry

Like the sun, you light

up yesterday's dream

You turn me on.

CLAPPING

What am I doing

here without you?

I have nothing but love.

All night long I call you

But you don't

answer the phone.

I closed myself

up in the room

Pacing back and

forth like a madman

Life has lost order

and direction

I have lost interest

God, oh, my God...

After the war, Ilan tells me

this was the first and last time

he arranged for a performer to

come entertain his soldiers.

The length of the war

and the many casualties

made Ilan decide these

evenings were inappropriate.

32 "arrow". 401...

Inform quickly

when ready to fire.

We are all reserves.

Most of the soldiers

around me are married.

They left behind wives,

children, families.

City people, from the

suburbs of Tel Aviv.

High tech engineers,

students, and lawyers.

Sleepless nights and

lack of knowledge.

How much longer

will this war last?

Where is all this leading?

Aviram...

Aviram?

Good morning.

May I project the

spotlight on you?

I'm filming.

- What's up?

- Everything is okay.

GROANING

- Anything interesting? -What?

- Anything interesting

going on? - No.

That's good.

Nothing of interest is best.

DISTANT AND FAINT EXPLOSIONS

I look around me as I

wake up in the morning.

It is now obvious that we

are all exposed targets.

We lie in an open

orchard, uncovered.

Like sitting ducks.

The rockets can hit any one

of us, any time, anywhere.

RINGING

Hello?

- Alon. - Yeah?

Just make sure you set up

the batteries properly.

I head about a crew

commander who was injured.

A rocket fell beside the

cannon he was in charge of.

Dudu asks me to accompany

him to the hospital.

We leave quickly, before the

noon rocket attacks start.

FOOTSTEPS AND SOUNDS OF HOSPITAL

- Good morning. - Hi.

- I'm not wearing a

shirt. - Good morning!

Hi. Good morning!

How are you doing?

You'll have your

second surgery soon.

He looks OK, he's

not... Pretty much...

Can you remember what happened?

We were standing

around, talking,

looking through the

field-glasses...

Then we put the

field-glasses back in,

kept talking for a while, and

suddenly there was an explosion.

We were ready with the tray,

we had a shell on the tray,

and... I was somehow

hurled inwards,

I was deafened by the noise,

and then I stuck my head out,

looked at the tank barrel,

and realized the explosion

came from the left.

The next thing I heard was

"fire alert" on the radio,

and then I heard: "One,

is everything all right?"

I grabbed the radio and

shouted "Negative, negative",

I'm not sure if I also

shouted "Doctor",

and then I fell inside.

That's basically

what happened there.

- How old are you?

- I'm twenty-seven.

Are you married?

I am.

And expecting, I don't know

yet if it's a boy or a girl.

VOICES ON RADIO

Thank you.

Kobi, just an update on

the hospitalized soldiers

and civilians in the

north of Israel.

There are 60 soldiers in the

Rambam hospital in Haifa.

21 are severely

wounded, 21 moderately

wounded and 15 lightly wounded,

- Where are you

going? - To Lebanon.

My camera captures the

white piece of paper.

It is the combat placement form

with the names and

military ID numbers

of each and every

soldier in the tank.

This is the last act before

going in to Lebanon.

If any of the

soldiers is injured,

that white piece

of paper will be

used to locate his

personal details.

During the drills we took

this ritual lightly.

Here, it symbolizes more than

anything the threat

to our lives.

- Have you seen any Hezbollah?

- Only through the eyepiece.

Can you describe them?

How old are they?

They're young, most of

them are aged 18-25.

That's it. The

fighting's tough.

Why is it tough?

Because you're fighting

against... Against ghosts.

You fear for your life, for the

lives of people around you.

We were right on the border,

so we saw a lot of guys

carried in and out

on stretchers.

Katyusha rockets...

These guys aren't stupid,

they're shooting non-stop.

They know all our

exact positions.

Every time we shift positions...

They are really accurate.

If it wasn't for the tanks, I

don't know what we would do,

there were some close calls.

And... you feel like mice,

sirens go off all the time,

you run into your vehicle

and by the time you...

build up aggression and go up to

the border waiting

to let it out,

you begin an operation,

but then the operation turns

out as non-offensive.

It's merely evacuating

the wounded.

It takes seconds, one crew

can finish off two tanks.

One casualty in each is enough

to keep the entire regiment

busy evacuating and shielding.

It's frustrating.

Over-frustrating.

Guy, 34 years old,

a tank commander,

returns to his crew.

Soon they will be

re-entering Lebanon.

I leave him and pray

for his safety.

Now your update

from Kiryat Shmona

which is under heavy

missile fire.

Heavy missile fire, and the

missiles are still falling

on Kiryat Shmona, lots of them.

The wounded are brought in one

after another and are tended to.

There are at least two who are

fighting for their lives.

In addition to the

rumors and reports

about the increasing

number of casualties,

the continuing Katyusha

barrages cause huge fires.

The beautiful northern

region has turned into hell.

FIRE CRACKLING

Katyushas are still

falling everywhere.

There are fires,

flames everywhere.

Think about the

ambulances, that must

make their way to the wounded...

AMBULANCE SIREN

Come on, I'll show you

where the rockets fell.

- Look, film this. - Here.

Can you see the hole? There's

a hole that's been repaired.

Take a look.

- The destruction... OK.

- Look at the pole.

Yariv, the pole.

Look how badly

damaged this car is.

SOUND OF RUBBLE UNDERFOOT

AND ENGINES RUNNING

The panic here is great,

ambulances come and go...

- Whoa... -What?

- Where did it fall? - There!

I'm not going anywhere!

We are dealing with a serious

attack on Kefar Giladi.

There are casualties. I can't

say any more than that.

Right now we are taking care

of twenty, and there have...

SIRENS

There are two ambulances

entering Kefar Giladi...

Yael, Katyushas are still

falling on this city.

BEEPING

SIRENS

AMBULANCE SIRENS

Back to you, Hadas Steif.

This is a very harsh

sight, I have no words...

Having covered

countless terrorist

attacks with casualties,

this is the most harsh sight I

have ever seen in my career.

Nine have been killed. Their

bodies are right here,

in front of me,

wrapped in blankets.

The local cemetery is

right next to them.

There are burnt cars and cars

on fire right next to me.

Many people are standing

around, looking,

finding it hard to

believe their own eyes.

Rocket fire on Kiryat Shmona!

Guys, vacate the place!

A lot of blood here,

in this area.

It's terrible, a cemetery...

Imagine a cemetery with

bodies lying around...

How many wounded

have been evacuated?

There are no wounded. There

are only the dead bodies

on the ground here,

in front of us.

There is nothing

we can do but cry.

We are standing at the

gates of a cemetery,

with the trees burnt down...

FIRE CRACKLING

TANK SHELLING

The rocket launches lead us to

react with massive cannon fire.

The number of shells

we fire increases

and it is unclear to what extent

they are effective, if at all.

I find Eyal, our deputy

commander in the war room

listening to the orders coming

in from the division commander.

Have we had success so far?

There is frustration

about the fact that

we cannot stop

the rocket fire and suppress it.

It is much more complicated

than we thought,

than we expected.

We are not fighting an army,

we're fighting guerrillas.

Are there times when you're

afraid? You, yourself?

Back in the day,

when I was younger,

I never thought about it.

Now I've got three kids.

When there are Katyushas

it's natural to be scared.

I can't lie about it.

When rockets fall right next to

you, when people get hurt...

I've just come back

from Kefar Giladi,

I've seen dead bodies,

burnt corpses...

Of course it's scary.

I'm always a bit afraid

that I will need an evacuation

and I won't get it.

It's all improvisations.

We haven't trained the men. This

is a lesson for the next war,

which, I hope,

never takes place.

I think the real test is now.

We can't be complacent.

I ask myself a very important

question: Are we

really effective?

If they're firing onto Salouki

Valley or the Litani River,

how effective am I? If I

fire into a nature reserve

that I built a certain way,

with a certain system,

is our amount of fire

really effective?

I can never be sure, so I

don't fire at random targets.

The weeping of radio reporter

Hadas Steif, during a broadcast,

still sounds in my ears.

I decide to return to Kiryat

Shmona to locate her.

Returning to camp, I come

upon the broadcast vehicle

of the Israeli army

radio station.

Who is that woman

behind the voice

that has become

synonymous with this war?

I've been chasing the events.

We've been to places that

were under heavy fire.

Kefar Giladi...

What were you thinking

about in Kefar Giladi?

My son is in the army now.

I didn't... I didn't think

about the effect it has on me,

but that's when you become a

mother, not a journalist,

and the mother inside

you is crying.

Even if it isn't her son.

The emotions come

later, at night,

at the end of the day, but

especially on my way home,

on weekends, when I'm alone in

my car, listening to music.

That's when all the

emotions erupt. And...

The image that

struck me most was

during the first week of war,

after the first casualties, the

armored units left Avivim.

I remember I kept seeing their

faces all the way home,

those soldiers, who

for the first time...

joined a war for the first

time and lost their friends.

So I called my good

friend and said, crying:

"We're sending children to die."

Just like that.

And now, three weeks

later I know...

We've been sending

children to die.

But that's war.

That's what everyone says.

ENGINE RUNNING

It is the third week

of war. Friday night.

86 soldiers have

been killed till now

and the government still sends

large troops into Lebanon.

The more I film

this war, the more

the chaos around me increases,

and the clearer the aim

of my shooting becomes:

to show a useless war, whose

victims we have become.

From a distance I hear the

Sabbath eve ceremony.

Suddenly, in the midst

of war and fear,

soldiers seem to respond to this

ritual with a

particular severity.

"...And sanctified it because

in it He had rested from all

His work that God had created

to do. Savri Maranan". LeChaim!

"Blessed are You, Lord, our

God, King of the universe,

who creates the fruit

of the vine". -Amen!

who sanctifies us with

His commandments,

and has commanded

the holy Shabbat...

"You have willingly and lovingly

given us Your holy Shabbat

for an inheritance.

Blessed are You,

who sanctifies Shabbat". -Amen!

- Shabbat Shalom.

- What about a challah

bread? - Two rolls will do.

- There is some

salt. - Is there?

CHATTER

RADIO CHATTER

SHELLING

INSECTS

SHELLING

What do you think?

If we enter Lebanon,

and I mean it,

in two hours we all

come back in coffins.

Two hours.

One anti-tank missile

and it's over.

This is serious, everybody knows

it, but nobody wants to say it.

I'm saying it... No

two ways about it.

ENGINES RUNNING

I know I represent the military,

and as a commander I'm not

supposed to talk about it.

When people hear the

truth, they wake up.

And the right people

better wake up.

SOUNDS OF ARMY CAMP

- Ahara'le... -What?

What did you do today?

You'll like this...

Yesterday I came back

from my cousin's funeral.

- He was killed in

Lebanon. - Really?

His name is Aharon

Yechezkel, like mine.

A great guy, 32 years old,

who was unlucky enough

to get a bullet in

his armpit rather

than the bullet proof jacket,

and that's how he died.

He was a sergeant major.

And...

He was a sergeant major, and he

was replacing one

of the soldiers

who needed a day off, or I don't

know exactly what happened.

He was just replacing him.

During one of the attacks

he was shot and killed.

My favorite cousin.

I have many cousins,

we are a big family,

but he was the only one

that I was close to.

We were friends besides that.

Just a second.

First of all, I'm

sorry, I didn't know.

It's the least I can do to...

Remember him. He meant a

lot to me. That's it.

VEHICLE REVERSING

Let's go over there.

How can you come back here?

How can I come

back here? Well...

I don't really want to be

back here, to be honest.

I'd rather stay home, because...

Aharon was part of our family.

As a kid I used to spend summers

at his place, six weeks.

I'd leave home, go

to their village...

I would walk around barefoot,

play basketball

with his friends.

We were part... He

was part of my life.

So I don't want to forget him,

but on the other hand the best

thing is to get

back on the horse.

What you want to do and

what you have to do

are two different things.

I wanted to stay home, but

I had to come up here.

So you switch to

autopilot and you do it.

Thanks, Ahara'le,

and take care.

I am.

I'm feeling lousy, but I'm

functioning just fine.

There's a difference between the

way I feel and the

way I function.

Ahrale quickly returns

to his soldiers.

He doesn't tell them he

is in painful mourning.

He insists on keeping

it a secret.

He asks me to use my camera

and places upon me

the responsibility

of preserving the memory of his

beloved cousin Aharon Yechezkel

from the small town

of Kefar Yedidia.

This is very traumatic

for us. There is...

You don't want me

to say all this?

Say whatever.

There's a feeling of

uncertainty, of disorder.

We feel like we've

been forgotten here.

Help us. Some gear

for the soldiers,

some information, would

be very helpful.

Shells, provisions,

we're not getting any.

What would you like to

say? In one sentence.

There's no trust.

No more trust! The

commands are crazy...

That's it.

Next time no one will come.

CAR HORN

He's mad because they keep

jerking the men around.

Yesterday they were

told to go to Rakefet,

CAR HORN

then they were told not to go

to Rakefet, but to Lebanon.

Then they were told: actually,

you're not going to Lebanon.

And in the morning they

were told to go to Rakefet.

In short, they don't

know what they want.

Do you want to stop

here, say "hello"?

Yeah.

Tell me what's going on inside.

It's tough.

What kind of fighters are they?

ENGINE RUNNING

Coerced.

Fighters who are forced

to be there, and...

ENGINE RUNNING

And their discipline was...

much better than ours.

That's what makes them soldiers,

not guerrilla troops.

It's been a while since

you slept, hasn't it?

Yes.

And how do you feel about this

war? What are you thinking?

That somebody tricked us.

Somebody sent soldiers to die.

That's as plain as I can be.

Somebody's been using soldiers

to achieve something.

You don't stop a war in

the middle of action,

when there are so

many casualties,

Katyushas and nothing is clear,

and of course, the kidnapped

soldiers won't return.

Well, what can you do?

This is our country.

Thank you very much.

This is the fourth week

I am filming the war.

Around me the same

vagueness, lack of clarity,

conflicting orders and an

increasing number of casualties.

There is word of a ceasefire

yet there are plans to conduct a

widespread operation in Lebanon.

I go to Tel Aviv

on a short leave.

I am exhausted after long

nights without sleep

and I have an undeniable

feeling of defeat.

I recall my first day

on the battlefield

when my regiment

commander told me

"Go ahead and film, one day this

will become part of history".

I pick up a soldier

from the tank regiment

on his way home to Haifa.

I can not see his eyes

deeply hidden under his hat.

I can only see the digital

camera in his hands.

I filmed the inside and

outside of the tank,

where the anti-tank missile

entered and exited.

I didn't take pictures

of the blood.

I went in, I saw it,

there were guts...

Bits of skin, blood,

bits of flesh.

I didn't want to film it, it

was a rough sight. It smelled.

- What did you do in the

tank? - I was the paramedic.

I was sitting in

back with the doctor

and we were supposed to listen

closely to what's going on.

To guess what's going on.

And what was going on?

What's going on is knowing

you know nothing at all.

So many things happen

in those moments.

You just keep hearing about

crews getting injured,

"Trach, trach, trach..."

We sit in the back and

we... What can we do?

Just look at each

other and pray.

But there's nothing like

being outside a tank,

because you see what's going on.

You have no illusion

that what's going on outside

is merely a war movie.

When we entered Lebanon...

Have you seen the film

"Saving Private Ryan"?

By Steven Spielberg?

First the boats land ashore,

unload the soldiers,

and the Nazis are shooting

at them from the shore,

killing them like ants.

That's exactly how it was.

A bus comes, the soldiers

get off, start running

in every direction

because it's scary.

Rockets and shells are falling.

They run and hide

among the tanks.

So I got there, and

it was very scary.

One of our guys got shell-shock.

He just started sweating,

crying, screaming.

And he came to me, asking

me to take care of him.

I myself was shocked.

I didn't know how to respond.

What can you do, you

know? What could I do,

if he sees me sad, how's

he going to feel?

CAR INDICATOR

BUS ENGINE RUNNING

Reaching home in Tel Aviv I

experience a sense of relief

mixed with apprehension.

How do I explain to people that

a mere 2 hours distance away

all hell has broken loose?

My city lives and breathes.

Its residents carry on as usual.

The contrast is sharp

and paralyzing.

MUSIC

The detachment from

the battlefield

has me glued to the TV screen

with a sense of despair.

I suddenly hear a

familiar voice.

We will now turn to Lt.

Colonel Ilan Levi,

commander of an artillery

regiment on the Northern border.

Good evening.

My regiment is

positioned all along

the border, from east to west.

We have 3 batteries which

are constantly firing.

We have fired several

thousand shells.

Aren't you frustrated by

the fact that despite

the enormous amounts

of ammunition

you have fired on Lebanon,

the Hezbollah still

manages to fire

several dozens of

Katyushas every day?

The men here are prepared

for a long operation.

We didn't think it would

end in an instant.

In 24 hours, the

Israeli government

has reached two

crucial decisions:

one is to accept the cease-fire,

the other to expand the

fighting in Lebanon.

The reporter announces

a ceasefire

and an expansion of operations

in Lebanon in one breath.

How do these two coincide?

It seems that only one who has

just come from that place

can fully realize what it means.

The air forces has performed

the biggest helicopter-borne

operations in its history.

I return to the war.

Yes, the government has indeed

instructed the IDF

to enter Lebanon,

with extensive troops and

reach the Litani River.

With no logic, no assumption

of responsibility,

the widespread ground operation

in Lebanon takes place

as the ceasefire is pending.

I look at the landscape of the

northern region of my country

and think of 33 soldiers

that lost their lives

in the final, unnecessary

48 hours of this war.

Welcome to our section.

There is probably going

to be a cease-fire.

Therefore, Hezbollah

might fire all it's got.

Has any regiment

entered Lebanon yet?

We were supposed to go in.

After two hours we started...

more, after four hours,

we started running

around like mice...

And we didn't go in.

They cancelled it.

There is no "cease"

order, so keep shooting.

There have been no reports of a

final cease-fire,

but it's coming.

It's all way too fragile.

I don't trust them at all.

RADIO STATIC

Cease! Cease! Did you hear?

RADIO CHATTER

Everyone come over

here. Guys! Come here.

CHATTER

The army was very arrogant

when the fighting began.

I can't evaluate battles and

tell if we've lost or won,

but the soldiers' feeling is

that we definitely haven't won.

I want to repeat what Eyal

said at the previous briefing,

we all got chills when we heard

how the soldiers had

abandoned their tanks.

This is more or less the same.

We projected

insecurity all along,

and we as commanders

couldn't...

Who was being insecure?

Just a second.

Think back. Go back

to the common soldier

- in some of the regiments...

- I don't accept it.

So let's not cover up.

I know enough.

Ilan, he sees the

bigger picture.

Guys, what he's saying is the

problem, the main problem.

Let him finish. That's

the main issue,

not standing orders,

that is the problem.

I'm talking about the common

soldiers, how they felt

and how much confidence they had

to follow their commanders.

And what I'm saying is drastic,

I'm talking about

going into Lebanon.

And we as commanders, we've

been doing this for years

just to get to this moment.

When we get a difficult

task, not an easy one -

to be able to look our

soldiers in the eye and say:

"Yes, we're going into Lebanon"

and one of our vehicles,

may catch fire and burn,

just so that... If

brigade 84 goes in

and risks their lives, we're

going to risk ours as well.

Our job as commanders is to

check with our superiors,

make sure it all works

properly and makes sense, etc.

But if in the end, our

soldiers don't believe in us,

or if we didn't give

them that security

then we've failed.

I'm saying harsh

things, but I'm saying

this after I've

spoken to soldiers.

- Don't be offended.

- Just a second.

If you want to talk about

fear, not in this forum.

Excuse me, kid! This

is Israel's problem.

Excuse me, adult, we're

the commanders...

It's not your

problem, or mine, or

his, it's the problem of Israel.

We should be talking about

the provisions we got,

about the cannons

that endured fire,

this is what we should

be talking about.

Noam,

Noam... Just a second.

First of all, Udi knows what

he's talking about, okay?

He's giving us facts.

That's one thing.

You two started an

impolite conversation -

child, adult.

But there is still a problem

which is not only

ours as artillery,

it's the problem of all the

forces who fought this war.

But I'm telling you that

the first time I heard

we're going into Lebanon,

I, as deputy commander

of the brigade,

was told several times

that "if this doesn't happen

and that doesn't happen,

"we're not going in".

No two ways about it.

And I got a feeling

and an understanding

as a commander of the

brigade, during the war,

that there are some people who

don't want to go

on this mission.

No two ways about it.

I want to talk about

feelings. There were fears,

I called them "risks".

When I was about to send

my regiment into Lebanon,

and the day before the

division commander came to me,

and I said: "Commander,

the regiment

is ready to go into Lebanon",

I understood the meaning

of this sentence.

I knew I was about to go in and

probably not all of

us would return.

As commander, I must

explain the implication,

and the implication

was, if we were

going in through an

unsecured route,

if we were getting no

proper protection,

I must report it to my superiors

and let them know the risk.

By the way, I was at the

gate in an armored carrier

that had 11 soldiers

and 3 officers in it,

and all of that after the

pre-entry briefing to Lebanon.

At the gate, after the briefing,

they told me I have to go.

At that point, I decided,

as commanding officer,

that based on the needs of

that time and the risks,

I didn't receive

this from anyone.

I am not letting them enter.

I said to the commander that

I would not let them enter,

because given the

preparation of the vehicles

and the constellation

of the men there,

the risk was greater

than the benefit.

By the way, the battery that

entered after that

was burnt down.

And I made the

decision, no one else.

The north is being vacated

of the armored vehicles.

A sense of relief is in the air.

CHATTER

METAL CLATTERING

I return home with

heavy memories.

The shock, the confusion,

the indisputable

feeling of defeat.

Like the aftermath

of an earthquake.

The surrounding nature seems to

regain its original appearance.

Soon people, families, children,

the many vacationers,

will revisit this place

during the holidays

replacing the gloom

and horror of war.

Months after the war, I

keep filming the people

who served in my regiment,

those I followed during the war

and those I randomly met

while wandering about.

Their faces are etched

into my memory.

Later they become the

heroes of this film.

I have lots of images in

my mind. Images like...

Snapshots from moments

that occurred.

Most of them are

actually about people.

People at specific moments.

Then I have so many

images. But you know,

I haven't written

it all down yet.

I've written some down,

but not all of it.

To write as in criticize

or for memoirs?

To write for myself.

Yes. As soon as I write,

I start remembering

all sort of things

that today I would've perhaps

done a bit differently.

There is nothing

like self-criticism.

I think that only you know best

how to criticize yourself,

where you were wrong,

based on what you knew.

I film Ilan, a

standing army officer,

as he descends from the northern

border into the

occupied territories.

The landscape of the

Galilee orchards

is replaced within two

hours with roadblocks,

the red roofs of settlements

beyond the Green Line,

and the sound of

the muezzin from

the distant

Palestinian villages.

What else do you take

with you from this war?

The image of my men,

at the moment I was...

Making the decision whether

or not to let them in,

it does go through my mind.

- Since then, it stays

with you. - Yes.

I look at them and

I think to myself:

what would've happened had

I decided differently?

Did the army criticize

you for that decision?

Did they raise objections?

No, and even if they

do, I can explain.

WIND

The good thing about being

able to see Kibia village.

From the mosque, right under

the "Aviv" buildings.

As for the position of the camp,

soldiers mixed with civilians.

There are no clear definitions.

And this is the most serious

problem we have around here.

MUSLIM CALL TO PRAYER

After Ilan is briefed on

the new military zone,

his schedule is tight.

He is going to a ceremony

in honor of the soldiers who

excelled during the fighting.

Less than a month

after the war ends,

the army celebrates

the new year.

It's hard to witness the

smugness and serenity

of officers and soldiers

who just now lost a war.

Tables laden with fine food,

smiles in all directions,

when the gloom of the war

still hovers in the air.

At the "Attention" order,

everyone stand up.

Attention!

Good morning, everybody.

We are at the very final

stages of this war.

There is no doubt that alongside

the many achievements

we will have to

investigate and study.

And based on the many lessons

and conclusions we reach,

we will have to

improve and repair.

Outstanding soldiers

of the year 2006:

Outstanding medical assistant:

Sergeant Yoni Redner.

No tough questions,

no signs of remorse.

The focus always

falls on the brave.

It seems that generals hide

their own incompetence

at the expense of

heroic soldiers.

To present the certificate of

excellence to the soldier...

MOTORBIKE ENGINE

I last saw Idan the military

medic getting out of my car

and walking away at an

intersection on

his way to Haifa.

I didn't know if I

would see him again.

One month after the war,

I see him after a class

at the Technion in Haifa.

What are you showing me now?

Some pictures I took

during the war.

Did you have a chance

to show these photos?

No. I don't show them to anyone.

What is this place?

This is the field area a

moment before we went in.

All around here is where

the mortar shells fell.

The border is right here.

This is... we board the

tanks and start to move.

The bus came from here.

The mortars hit and we just

ran to hide among the tanks.

And this is the

tank you were in?

Yes.

Here, this is the tank.

- Is that you in the

picture? - Yes.

This is the first tank, the

one that led the convoy.

It might be the

tank that got hit.

I don't recognize the guy here.

What's this?

This is one of the first

tanks ahead of us.

It got hit by a very

advanced anti-tank missile.

Such a small hole,

kills so many people.

I entered one more time. It

was all filled with blood.

Afterwards an army unit arrived.

They cleaned everything up.

And I took the pictures.

It burned everything

around here.

I mean, if there was a person

here, and there was...

He just vanished.

The anti-tank missile entered

this part of his body,

and the guy disappeared.

There was this guy with me

from the medics course.

He also volunteered.

For the same position as me.

To get into the tank.

And be with the guys,

with the crew.

He hit a mine.

I opened a newspaper

when I returned.

There was this big photo of him.

- It's crazy. - What

was his name?

Nir Cohen.

Nir Cohen, may he rest in peace.

Here, this is his picture.

"The paramedic asked to

drive the tank again."

God...

The fact that it happened

to a guy with the same job,

what can you do

about such a thing?

You know that a guy who had the

same job as you, got killed.

And now you're entering.

I told myself I would

erase all the photos.

I also have lots of

photos of people

who served with me

who got killed.

But I just can't throw it

away. I'm keeping it always.

You just can't.

You have to keep them somewhere.

This is the renowned hat.

Smells like war.

Do you remember?

A walking distance from

Idan's home, I find Reuven,

father of five, owner of a

clothing store in Kiryat Ata.

He remains etched in my

memory with his helmet

as he sits in a Hummer

having left the battle in

Lebanon a few minutes before.

With a tired look,

he uttered the

sentence I haven't

forgotten since:

"We sent soldiers to be killed".

It is now one month

after the war.

He apologizes for the little

time he has to spend with me.

It's the holidays and he must

go back to work at his store.

Friday afternoon.

In single file.

They entered single file.

You see those tanks

entering there like that.

And you ask yourself,

what is this?

Don't they have a regiment

commander, a company leader?

Don't they have

anyone in charge?

What is this single file?

And they entered Lebanon, and

got fired on from all sides.

There were...

About 14 or 15 tanks got

in single file, 8 got hit.

8 got hit by "sagger" missiles.

You are amazed, and you

see them after about...

an hour and a half, two hours

they got hit, returning.

They returned.

There was no command.

You receive an order... At

noon they come and tell you:

you have to go through

this material,

start working, see where

you should go in,

what you are supposed to do.

And you get going, you

start getting organized.

And then you understand

you're going nowhere.

That it's just not a place

you should be entering.

You have no business

being there.

So you find a cartridge

in some house.

What good did it do?

People entered a house and

they were recognized,

and "sagger" missiles

were fired everywhere.

Our soldiers are

no longer valued.

Why did you enter?

CAR ENGINE

During the war, I met

people completely by chance

and seeing them again

is surprising.

Suddenly I see the worlds

from which they came

to the inferno of that war.

The testimonies in my

camera keep growing.

Reuven insists on showing me the

business he set up 10 years ago,

a store for men's clothing.

This is my store!

I return to Idan in

the late afternoon.

He takes me to a Thai boxing

class not far from his home.

He's the only Sabra,

surrounded by new

immigrants from Georgia,

young men training for a

regional championship.

PUNCHING

Hold them in the air.

On ten at my count. When I say

"One", you do "two". One!

Two!

I ask myself why, since the war,

Idan chooses to spend

four evenings a week

in a public shelter,

learning the

basics of this

cruel martial art?

KICKING

MEN SPARRING

RADIO CHATTER

At ten pm I insist on

meeting Ilan again

and find him returning

from the field.

In our talk that morning

I was surprised to hear

that he had been keeping

a diary during the war.

I want to convince him to read

some of it for the camera.

They opened the

fence a bit for us.

Not much though.

We're going to get

them at night.

I'm in my office.

Is it common, these late hours?

You call this late? It's

10:30 p.m., it's not late.

It's not late. Ask

me in a few hours,

- then I'll be able

to answer. - I see.

When I finish today at 3-4

a.m., then you should ask me.

Maybe earlier than four.

You told me about the things

you wrote after the war,

that you write in general.

- Yes. - Why do you write?

I think writing is liberating.

Sometimes things come together

when you write them down.

I'm not a writer or anything. I

write about what

I'm going through

and sometimes I write

down my thoughts.

Did you write after the war?

Some, not much.

I read some literature about

the war, as if I wasn't there.

I found something. It

is a bit hard for me,

but I decided anyway to...

read you something I wrote.

I rewrote it, by the way.

It wasn't written as nicely as

it is now for me to read it.

But I will read it.

"Thoughts of war.

"Now that all the eulogies

for the dead have ended,

"All the conclusions

are made and

life is seemingly back on track,

"I find myself reflecting.

"These are not the thoughts of a

commander who fought

with his men.

"Nor about how well

his unit operated.

"Nor about the

achievements of the war.

"You will not find here the

heroic descriptions

of a warrior,

"nor will you find the

stories of battles.

"These are the

thoughts of a man.

"Without uniform, without

ranks, without barriers.

"The thoughts of a simple man

who was there and did his best.

"It is hard for me to put in

writing this kind of thoughts.

"These are personal flashes

of thought that I had,

"probably for the first time in

my life with such intensity,

"but were never written.

"The thoughts of a commander

about his own death

"have nothing noble about them.

"Yes, during the war I looked

death in the eye and wondered.

"I couldn't explain to myself

"how I am walking around

there with no fear of death.

"And at one moment, when

the cannons stopped,

"I suddenly wanted

to live so much...

"An odd feeling of

retroactive fear.

"A feeling I never had before.

For a moment, I felt weak,

"I wanted to hug my family.

"And to simply be 'Ilan'.

"And then, a shout:

'Commander, they want you!'

"And once again you are in

the world of the strong

"that you are accustomed to,

looking at your soldiers,

"becoming filled with

pride and contentment.

"Then forget again,

"until night and the

silence of being alone."

You said there is a song

you would like to hear.

Not a specific song, though

the first song is one

that sort of reminds

me of the war.

And I like listening to my

brother in law at night

before I go to sleep.

He's sort of calming.

His voice makes me feel good.

- Eyal? - Yes, Eyal.

Listen for yourself

and you will see.

MUSIC

There are moments

When I am out of words

Only my head is

full of images

Noises and imagination

BIRDSONG

Hi.

1, 2, 3. 1, 2, 3.

I've got no sound.

When am I on the line up?

When am I up?

Hadas Steif, the

radiophonic voice

most identified with

the war in Lebanon

is in her kitchen

broadcasting her report

on the military

radio morning news.

Ten more minutes? Give

me a call before that.

Okay, thanks.

We have sound.

Now there's this device

and it actually enables me

not to go to the studio.

I'll do my work.

I cannot find a

connection between the

individual I filmed

during the war

and the person I see here.

Does the memory of the war

still echo in her mind?

The only indication of

her military service

is a photograph on the fridge

of her son the soldier,

who fought in the war.

After the war I found out that

Hadas was the only journalist

authorized to enter

Lebanon for 48 hours.

She witnessed the rescue of

wounded and dead soldiers.

She risked her own

life more than once.

Good morning, Golan.

In recent days, a high ranking

officer in the prison authority

was summoned for questioning at

the warden investigation unit.

A female officer serving beneath

him, filed a complaint,

claiming that he

sexually harassed her.

Meanwhile, the female

officer was reassigned

and distanced from the

suspect at her own request.

DOG BARKING

- "Iron numbers!" -

Iron numbers, one.

"Three. -Four. -Five. -Six.

"Hadas, you're 18. -18. -18.

"We arrived at the

village walking

quietly, going into

house number 6,

"the house that was set for us.

"Entering Lebanon

was foreboding.

"They still couldn't

believe that I

was going in with

them, and on foot."

Did you realize that

you're entering Lebanon?

I'm experiencing it now.

I mean, when I hear it

retrospectively, but there...

It's part of the

job. I was working.

The voices, and taping and

lugging this heavy thing.

And don't forget I had

a helmet on my head

and a heavy vest and

the equipment on me.

Have you listened to these

tapes since the war?

No. I listened to them right

after the war and that's it.

I haven't listened

to them since.

"I saw you commanding

the evacuation.

- "How do you feel

right now? - Nothing.

- "I did what was asked

of me. - That's all."

- Who is in this photo

with you? - Yariv, my son.

Do you see the date? July 17.

He was in the artillery

corps. He was on the border.

He got to one of

the posts there,

and this is our first

meeting during the war.

This is the North hotel.

We were broadcasting live

under Katyusha fire. Now...

I was outside, I wasn't inside.

So I took cover

under this bench.

Here is where I laid down and

continued my transmission

in order to be outside.

This is a hole made

by a Katyusha rocket.

These are the funny shoes

I wore in south Lebanon.

This is that meeting with

my son, we're chatting.

It was only about 5-10

minutes, no more,

because he had no

time and had to run.

I'm with the earphone as usual.

I don't even feel it and

I'm interested to know

what happened.

Mother and son.

"Ilan, how many men are going

out for rescue right now?

"There are many wounded,

we need stretchers,

"each stretcher

requires four men."

RADIO CRACKLE

I leave Hadas Steif

as the sounds of the war still

resonate in the background.

I return to Tel Aviv and see

people flocking to the square.

Initial findings

about the failure

of the war have been published

by the inquiry committee

headed by Judge Winograd.

Public shock brings people

to the square to protest.

Just like a theatre play,

the leaders and TV stations

separate themselves

from the people,

standing on platforms

and cranes,

made up like actors on a stage.

In the name of national

responsibility

we came here, to

the city square,

and in its name we ask you:

Can you lead Israel

in crucial decisions?

You can't!

No more spins!

Olmert, resign! Olmert, resign!

The people want the

Prime Minister's head

and the heads of the other

two they find responsible:

the Minister of Defense

and the Chief of Staff.

Go home, Olmert!

CHEERING

Go home, Olmert!

While wandering around the

protest, I suddenly see Ahrale.

The last time I saw him

was during the war

when he told me about the death

of his cousin Aharon Yechezkel.

Now this protest reunites us.

The Minister of Defense,

guilty or not guilty?

Guilty!

Should the Minister of

Defense go home, yes or no?

Yes!

I can't hear you!

LOUDSPEAKER IN DISTANCE

BICYCLE BEING

WALKED THROUGH A STREET

So the last time we met

was during the war.

That's correct.

And what've you been

up to since then?

Well, since then,

interesting stuff happened.

It began with a trip abroad.

For about two weeks,

to get some rest.

There I met my

current girlfriend.

Then I quit my job.

I took three months off,

to relax on the beach.

And in all this...

Do you somehow connect this

to the war? Does it resonate?

Yes, the connection

is very clear.

Some time ago I was called

up for reserve duty.

And just before...

I developed some

symptoms of PTSD,

which is simply speaking,

some kind of combat fatigue.

It made me dysfunctional

for some time.

I'm still dealing with it.

And when I talked

about it with the...

You don't have to talk to

anyone to understand it.

I mean, quitting my job,

sitting on the beach,

not working full-time.

This was all meant to

release the stress I felt,

because I wanted some time off.

And that's it. Now I'm trying to

forget about it,

to rehabilitate.

Find a full-time job

and start working,

but basically...

Of course it resonates,

the echo is very clear.

Everything I did - my job, what

I did in my personal life,

was very much

affected by the war.

So it appears to be over,

at least I thought so,

and suddenly it rises

to the surface again,

something like two

weeks before I was

scheduled to go to reserve duty.

What does it mean

that it surfaces?

Truth is, there is no point

in going into detail.

I don't want to

describe exactly what

happens because it

is a bit personal.

But what exactly does it mean,

in terms of daily function?

It means that at first

I had trouble in answering calls

from people I didn't know.

I couldn't always

concentrate on my work.

I mean, I didn't work at

all for almost two months.

I stopped studying

in the university.

I started a degree

in the university,

in Tel-Aviv, History

and Philosophy,

and in fact I

stopped studying, I

didn't attend the

semester at all,

because I just couldn't

understand what

they were saying.

It was that bad.

And this is the rundown of

what I was going through.

Besides that, there are the

emotions, but it's a bit...

I don't want to get into it.

It's too personal.

Okay.

TRAFFIC

The sea is very near.

Ahrale leads me towards the sea.

It seems that watching the sea

has really become his

source of relief.

TRAFFIC

WAVES CRASHING

When we talked about the

post-traumatic symptoms,

what do you mean, you

don't answer calls?

It means you look at the

phone and you tell yourself:

"Okay, I will answer this

person in a minute".

Or: "I don't want to

answer him right now".

I just didn't pick up for

people I didn't know,

or people that I knew, but who

weren't close enough to me.

I didn't care whether they

left me a message or not.

Because if I would

start answering

them, then I would start

either crying on the phone

or just... I don't know,

feeling a lot of stress.

And I decided that in

order not to suffer

more than I am suffering

at the moment,

that I just don't care.

I disconnected my cell phone,

put it on "silent" mode,

and it didn't matter how

many calls I received,

I didn't answer any of

them. I just didn't care.

WAVES CRASHING

DISTANT MUSIC

At the same time not

far from Tel Aviv,

I am invited to Guy's wedding

at the Fort of "Antipatris".

I recall how he described

with a blank expression

the battles that quickly

turned into rescue missions

facing an enemy

he called ghosts.

Hello.

Good evening.

Pleased to meet you.

Congratulations.

A few weeks after the war he

decided to leave the country

and moved to Nigeria.

This morning he landed in

Israel for his wedding.

MUSIC

Good evening, ladies

and gentlemen,

and welcome to the wedding

of Guy and Moran.

This is a great day for you,

in which you are entering

into a pact of love

in order to start

a Jewish family.

Behold you are betrothed.

To me with this ring.

According to the law

of Moses and Israel.

Mazal...

Tov!

MUSIC

I look at the guests dancing

in the ancient "Affek" fort,

the sight of Historic

bloody battles.

MUSIC

Guy and his friends are

dancing ecstatically.

The war seems further

and further away.

Who can even remember it.

MUSIC

I'll give you a small brief,

Last year, before I

came to Nigeria...

there was a war with

Lebanon, and I was there.

Did you know Guy came

from the war to Nigeria?

I didn't know he took

part in the war,

but of course if

you're from Israel

you've been fighting

war all your life.

What are you dealing

with in your business?

We're trading, you know,

we do a lot of things.

We do a lot of things, so...

we are trading.

All kind of

commodities mainly.

OK.

And one part is more

concerning security and law.

That's the main two things

that we are handling.

Do you remember where

Guy was a year ago?

Yes.

When the war started, they

took him to reserve duty.

And we thought he was going

and will be back in no time.

As if, "I'm just

going for a second".

And every time we asked Moran,

who is now his wife,

"What's with Guy?" She

would answer, "no,

"he's not in Lebanon,

he's just organizing...

"all sorts of things they

should get for the army,

"for the guys inside and all."

It appears that all along,

this was not the case.

He was in Lebanon a

couple of times,

and I had this feeling

that something was going on.

MUSIC

Did you know what

he's going through?

MUSIC

Give me a minute...

I just worried a lot.

MUSIC

I cried every day

because I didn't...

We didn't hear from him,

and I was very scared.

MUSIC

Yariv.

Life is more powerful than any

of us. That's the main thing.

Things happen every moment

all around the world.

We're just actors who

change roles in this movie

about everything

that happens here.

And it's important to reach the

end with memories such as these

rather than the

memories of last year.

As you've seen, I have

a Nigerian partner,

and I have Syrian and

Lebanese friends,

and we're all human beings.

And all have the same desires,

same angers, same loves.

And may it be that one day,

though not in our time,

everything will be different.

MUSIC

And I hope this won't

be a war movie,

but a movie about life,

not about death.

As you see, people

are living here.

And they live well. And the

other side lives well too.

And we must go on.

MUSIC

I shall give you roses

A bundle of cherries

And a song with a tune

An invitation

to a wedding.

I shall give you roses

A bundle of cherries

And a song with a tune,

An invitation

to a wedding.

An invitation

to a wedding.

An invitation

to a wedding.

An invitation

to a wedding.

SINGING

HELICOPTER

EXPLOSION

RADIO STATIC

MUSIC

My First War (2008) - full transcript