l_beria

If the original "Saints and Soldiers" can be considered a hit, then this "prequel" is a solid miss. The acting is acceptable. The observation about the telephone notwithstanding, the uniforms and firearms shown in the film were amazingly authentic. The special effects are reasonable given the budget the filmmakers had to work with. A number of other reviewers have pointed out that this film was "obviously" made on a low budget, but that of itself is not a valid criticism. Anyone could do better, or more at any rate, if an extra couple hundred million dollars fell on their head, but the art of the "art" is to produce something good with whatever resources available. The problem is in the script and the choreographing of the battle scenes - which were obviously not vetted by the military advisers - or, their advice was ignored. Part of the film has a "moral", that the Biblical Golden Rule "Do unto others as..." works even on the battlefield among men who are trying to kill each other. The concomitant to this is that "enemies" are also human; very much like us. The other part of the film is the conventional "Hollywood" war movie were a small bunch of "our heroes" gun down an endless supply of one-dimensional "nasty Natzees" who, when they shoot, never seem to be able hit an Allied soldier or miss an unarmed victim. Needless to say, these two parts don't mesh very well and the story just comes across as kind of dumb.

A wealthy orphan (an adult, but whose parents have died and is as yet, unmarried - so, in that period, unprotected) befriends another woman who has lost her husband and is now a homeless widow. Their relationship has lesbian elements - which of course are "beyond the pale" in the era; additionally, the friend is "horror of horrors" - a Lutheran - in other words - a heretic! And the orphan is wealthy... The Inquisition steps in soon enough and when the two women prove 'uncooperative'- this film pulls no punches. The film shows both how the two women are slowly but surely broken in graphic detail and, showing interviews the inquisitors have with various witnesses, also how the common beliefs of the time justified it. The torture is shown historically accurately being done to the women's totally nude bodies...

This story (see plot summary) is pretty much a very well done, "standard" explanation by the Israelis, of their position. But, what sets this film apart is the 20 minute long, tank battle sequence, that shows the Israeli attack on Rafah at the beginning of the 6 Day War. In my estimation that is the best tank battle scene ever done for any movie. It was clearly filmed on an Israeli Army tank firing range as it has such details as: often the tanks shown firing are shooting live ammunition and not blanks (the visual difference is subtle, but those who have seen live fire will appreciate it) several dozen real tanks are really blown up, including one spectacular shot where the turret flies off of an exploding JS-3. (Remember, they had no CGI back then, either). So, this is definitely one for the war movie buffs (the battle rates a 10 +++), though it takes a while for the film to get there.