Ehad Mishelanu

This movie is about a conflict between friends who previously went through long, grueling military training together. Evidently for the sake of improving the audience's understanding and empathy, it takes us through quite a lengthy depiction of that training. And evidently because it suspects that the training itself may not give the film a lot of momentum, the whole thing starts with a flash-forward into the movie to show us who will be confronting whom later on. When the confrontation comes about-- and it's the irresistible force of a dedicated criminal investigator meeting the immovable object of the investigator's personal bond with a suspect-- it is played for all it's worth and the long wait is justified. Of course the premise is a bit unlikely. What are the odds that as a military policeman you'll have to investigate your own friend from your training days? But Israel is a small country, and Israelis of only a narrow age range are in the army at the same time, so while unlikely it's less unlikely than elsewhere. And of course the investigator should recuse himself, but the movie supplies him with a reason not to. Like the scenes of training, the scenes of interpersonal tension go on and on, but unfortunately the payoff is rather understated instead of cathartic.