The Perpetual Cycle of War

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By Tom Pacak
  
The number one fear of any parent who sends their son to fight in war is hearing that doorbell ring. “Foxtrot” opens up with a couple having that fear come true when uniformed soldiers arrive at a fancy apartment in Israel. They ring the doorbell that reads, “Feldmann.” The soldiers have come to inform the Feldmanns that they’ve lost their son Jonathan Feldmann (Yonathan Shiray).  Dafna Feldmann (Sarah Adler) faints and the husband Michael (Lior Ashkenazi) is in charge of all funeral arrangements. Loir Ashkenazi greatly captures the justified anguish of losing a child. You can tell Loir Ashkenzai cuts to the bone of how sad, depressed, and angry he is. Michael even calls the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) a “bunch of morons.”

Cut some time before this, the second half follows Jonathan and four other Israeli soldiers stuck on border patrol. The soldiers battle boredom by talking about old family stories and playing war-like video games. The most breathtaking scene in the film shows a soldier doing the famous Foxtrot dance while holding his rifle. Director Samuel Maoz smartly puts this scene in here to show a never-ending cycle of war that Israel is stuck in. The dance consists of continuous dancing from two slow steps to two fast steps while always ending where you started the dance.

Since it’s release, the film has been extremely controversial. One particular scene shows the soldiers killing a car of unarmed Palestinians and dumping the car in the desert.  The culture minister of Israel, Miri Regev, called the movie, “a horrendous lie.” Samuel Maoz felt betrayed by the culture minister since she didn’t see the movie and how somebody in high power dismissed his constructive criticism.  

Before Samuel Maoz became a filmmaker, he was a gunner during the 1982 Lebanon War. He experienced post-traumatic stress but had to brush it off due to his family surviving the Holocaust. His film “Lebanon” captures his experience during the war. “Foxtrot” is a film about being stuck in that perpetual state of war in the battlefield and at home.  The final act of the film follows Michael and Dafna battling the gritty war at home when it comes to losing a child. They both equally blame each other for the loss of their son. Samuel Maoz succeeded in conveying a message about trying to get out of the cycle of war. Let’s hope people stop doing the Foxtrot and learn a new dance.

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Rating: 4 stars out of 4 stars

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