The War's Other Side

Israel Defense Force soldier Yariv Mozer made a film, titled "My First War," based on his experiences during the 2006 Lebanon war. He uses footage that he shot during the war:

"He videotaped as his fellow troops scurried for cover from incoming fire, as ambulances bearing the wounded raced to the hospital, and as disenchantment grew over a misguided battle plan that left the soldiers feeling, as one tells Mozer's camera, like 'somebody fooled us.'

...

Instead, Mozer and his fellow troops received conflicting orders, inadequate protections and an inscrutable strategy. The goal was to stop the rockets, but Hezbollah's Katyushas continued to streak across the sky throughout the war's 33 days. Soldiers slept in the open in orchards that could turn at a moment's notice into fields of fire. Units were ordered into Lebanon, then hastily pulled back when they encountered the enemy."

The film does have its critics. As the Washington Post article points out, there is something inherently limited in any war film that restricts its message to something similar to "Oh, the humanity!" Of course, war is tragic. But that simple trope does not provide any alternatives to another war. Israel and Hezbollah are currently preparing as if another round is inevitable, and Mozer's film is unlikely to do anything to change that reality.

Nevertheless, I'd still like to see it. Is this something that would be legal to show in Lebanon? Would the censors be willing to look in the other direction because of the film's anti-war slant?