From an Israeli perspective: 10 movies that deals with the war of October 1973
War movies take a big part of the Israeli cinema’s heritage; Due to the big number of wars fought by Israel.
The Israeli cinemas has dealt with the 6th of October 1973 war in a relatively small number of films; because it ended “the unbeatable army” in the minds of many.
We are here going to show some details of these films which took the war from the Israeli point of view:
1- Kippur
The film’s events takes place in 1973 during the “Day of Atonement” as Israel calls it, when Egypt and Syria launched attacks on Sinai and the Golan Heights.
The story is told from the viewpoint of the Israeli soldiers, and it compares between the quiet beginning and tragic end of a day with death, destruction and ruin.
The director of the film is Amos Gitai, and as usual, his films are built on CV sources. The hero of this film is Leron Levu who’s portraying Gitai himself, the film’s director. Gitai joined the unit of the Israeli air rescue in the Golan Heights during the war, and he is one of the film producers which came out in 2000.
2- The Vulture
The film tells the story of a young man named Boaz, a young officer returned from the “Yom Kippur War” in 1973, who left with his two fellows, and returned with one of them dead, and the other one injured.
On his way to his dead friend’s parents, he saw lots of parents who lost their children too, so Boaz gave them all alleged poems by their dead children, and told many alleged heroic stories.
When he became older and with experience and he is re-called in the Israeli army, he asked each soldier to carry a poem in his pocket. He produced the film in 1981.
3- Tzomet Volkan
The film tells the story of five young men and one woman decided to change their lives 9 days before the “Yom Kippur war”. They began to face challenges until the war changed the entire country.
The film director Iron Riklis Put the plot of the film at the beginning, not the end as usual; he put the choice infront of these young people to form a band, despite the problems each of them had. Although the big number of songs in this film, but it did not impress the audiences on the radio. Moshe Danon produced the film in a partnership with the director in 1998.
4- Yom Hadin
The film’s events revolves around a hotel manager who leaves his wife and daughter and travel to America, then come back to participate in the “Yom Kippur War”. This man gets injured in the war, and gets the necessary blood from his volunteered daughter at the hospital. The film was directed and produced by George Ovadia in 1974.
5- Blues Lahofesh Hagadol
The film deals with the story of a group of close friends, newly graduated from high school. Some of them surprisingly are called to serve in the Israeli army, which shattered their dreams when they saw the large number of deaths.
Director Rene Shore took part in the production with the producers Ilan de Vries and Doron Nesher in 1987.
The previous list included films with a dramatic plot, but here we take a group of Israeli documentaries that talk about the 1973 war.
1- Letter From The Front
The film reflects the war in the eyes of reservists who were mobilized for the war. It presents archival footage of the Egyptian-Syrian attack on the land of Sinai and the Golan Heights. The film also shows the failure of the Israeli military leaders, and a part of the health care for the injured during the war. The film was produced in 1973.
2- Will To Do
The film presents the situation in Israel after a year of war, how the rehabilitation of the wounded was, and how was the care for widows after the war. The film deals with the conditions of education after the war and how it changed. It was produced in 1974.
3- A Time Between
The film shows the panic that hit civilians during the war, and the implications. It explains how Israel stood on its foot again after the war, and families’ donation with their property to assist in the advancement of the country.
4- A Message Of Life
The film shows how Israel was before the war and how it became after the war. The film shows that in spite of the difficulties caused by the war, they created an atmosphere of solidarity among all. The film appeared in 1974.
5- As Always Hadassah
The film shows a scene at the beginning, of the Foreign Minister of Israel, Golda Meir, and some rabbis during a memorial ceremony for the victims of war. And then moved on to illustrate how is the reception of “Hadassah” hospital for the wounded, health care, and full psychological injured received inside. The film was produced in 1973.
