Heder 514

Viewed at the Los Angeles Israeli film festival of 2013 "ROOM 514" is kind of a companion piece to "Rock the Casbah" in that it is also a film that addresses the internal conflict within Israeli Society between acute security needs and essential Jewish morality, in this case by bluntly questioning Israeli military behavior against Arab civilians. Anna is a young attractive Russian immigrant who will soon be going to law school and is fulfilling her military service obligation as an interrogator in army legality cases. The case assigned to her is one of alleged physical abuse of Arab civilians beyond the call of duty by a small patrol in the occupied territories. She is a relentless questioner out to prove herself and the male chauvinism of the hardened soldiers under questioning does not phase her in the least. Bit by bit she dredges up the embarrassing facts until finally the leader of the group, Davidi, a war hero is forced to admit his guilt. A general is called in to try to pressure her into dropping the case but it's too late -Davidi, to save face has committed suicide! Other than a brief breakaway for a panting quickie with her superior officer and a couple of bus rides home after work, almost the entire 90 minutes of the film take place in the single room of the title in head to head confrontations, and is filmed in relentless facial close ups most of the way creating an intense claustrophobic space enclosing the mounting drama. This is literally a chamber piece on a small canvas, but a very promising directorial debut by Sharon Bar-Ziv. The film has traveled to many festivals and actress Asia Naifeld, who plays Anna and is in every single scene, was nominated for an Israeli Oscar as best actress in 2012. All of these films were supported by the Israel Film Fund (Keren Kolnoa Israeli) which indicates an open-mindedness and self criticism one could hardly expect from filmmakers on the other side of the fence. Bottom Line: Unflinching self-critical hardball is another winner from Israel

No one has a big budget in the Israeli film industry, so it's natural to make virtue of necessity and film a story that takes place almost entirely in one little room. The story is a take on a theme we remember from THE CAINE MUTINY and more recently, as a previous commenter said, from A FEW GOOD MEN ("I have neither the time nor the inclination to explain myself to a man who rises and sleeps under the blanket of the very freedom that I provide, then questions the manner in which I provide it."). The heroine, who appears in every scene, undertakes a daunting investigation even though she is about to leave the service, and that's one of a few clichés that intrude. We seem to be watching the interrogations in real time-- that is, there are no cuts to indicate that minutes or hours have passed between bits of dialogue-- so there's an unrealistic rapidity to the way uncooperative witnesses become cooperative; but on a moment-to-moment basis the acting makes it more or less believable. On the other hand, there are some distracting cuts-- from one perspective to another perspective that's only slightly different or a little farther away-- that seem to have no dramatic justification, and it's hard to think of them as anything but splices that were technically necessary and couldn't be smoothed over by the editor. As I said, though, budgets in Israel are small; so maybe the editor didn't have a lot of time and resources available.

'Room 514' blows up in the face of Israel's 68 year occupation of the Palestinians on the West Bank. The narrative is straightforward: a female military interrogator interviews two soldiers from an elite division that has abused civilian Palestinians. Anna is young woman finishing her military service; she finds her last assignment a challenge. She has mind of her own, and sees her mission in the IDF as an upholder to its principles of right and wrong. Her commander and feckless lover Ezer tells her to close the case. He sees in a flash that it will do her future no good if she doesn't go with the flow. But her doesn't know her: she has a strong will and a depth to her moral center, and won't give up her interrogation. Room 514 has a setting that is claustrophobic, dense and conceived to break the will of those interrogated. It has a flatness and a greyness that Anna and Ezer's lovemaking cannot bring out bright colors. She slyly has Nimrud give up his commander Davidi. Davidi is brash and acerbic. His language is menacing and her wears his contempt in the same manner he does his stripes of an commander. Anna is unfazed by his bravado and he cracks and confesses. He kills himself leaving a suicide note. It is his apologia pro sua viata for taking his life: his career is based on sheer violence to keep Palestinians whom he regards as less than human in their place. Davidi cracks on the unremmiting pressure to use terror to keep a people under Zionist control as the Israeli elite steals their land through illegal settlement of Jewish colonists. And it is this open secret that makes Bar Ziv's film exceptional and challenging to Israel's myth that Jews are a people occupying a land without people. As the narrative winds to its end, a major general swaggers into Room 514 threatening Anna for exposing a 'Waffen' bridge he created with the sole purpose of keeping the conquered Palestinians in their place through sheer, unwavering violence. Yet Anna is beyond intimidation as she hands him Davidi's suicide note. We can only surmise that his death puts this elite division in the dock. Exit in a huff the general, Anna sits quietly awaiting her fate as the film ends. In a simple setting, Bar Ziv has indicted Israel's occupation. It never occurs that Israeli violence would not give birth or Palestinian resistance or that Palestinians are people alive and of blood and flesh, not animals, not subhumans. Alas, in the US this film wont get much play, now as the sands of geopolitics are shifting away from Israel and Saudi Arab as the US looks to newer partner to maintain a balance of power and its influence. If anything, 'Room 514' is a good example of Israeli cinema at its height!

I saw this film as part of the Ghent filmfestival 2012 in the official Competition category. Before booking tickets I found it difficult to imagine that a film that is (almost) fully confined within the walls of an interrogation room, can be able to entertain for one and a half hour. But the festival magazine hinted to "A few good men" with similar limitations (a court room). And further on this line of thought, I still remember "12 Angry men". So who am I to need more reasons??

There were not many reviews on IMDb about Room 514, but the few I saw were very positive, with only a single negative remark about the vast amounts of subtitles (in The Netherlands we are used to that, so I ignored it). All that combined pushed me over the line, and I certainly don't regret my decision.

Though seemingly all about dilemma's around bending the rules for a greater good, when applying violent force that is deemed unnecessary and uncalled for according to the book (rules of engagement), there is much more at stake in this film. There is no violence in the interrogation room, however. Unnecessary violence is only the subject of the interrogation, no more no less.

This film is also about an ambitious woman alone in an army dominated by men, who have their future career in mind and avoid pitfalls whenever possible. On the other hand, our main character is eager to score in the last three weeks of her duty, after which she plans to move on to law school. In other words, a choice between prematurely closing a case file that is declared "hot" by her colleagues due to political implications, versus her sense for a dutiful performance as well as equal chances for Arab's to complain about misdemeanors of Israeli soldiers. All of these issues, in some form or other, are even so relevant in situations much closer to home, like banks and industry.

The outside world appears every now and then, for instance when her mother calls about domestic problems she can't handle. Unanticipated phone calls like these disturb the process of interrogation, and tend to put her in a difficult position. Another outside world becomes apparent on three bus rides home, each of these bus scenes playing a pertinent role in the story line. And last but not least, we have a short appearance of the fiancée of her boss, about to marry. The fiancée insists on hearing from our main character that she did not sleep with her intended (she answers "no", which is literally true). But she really has sex with her boss, obviously not the first time, and we see it all happening within the confined 4 square meters of Room 514, also housing a table, two chairs and a filing cabinet (a remarkable achievement, if I may say so).

All in all, while the underlying theme seems bound to Israeli versus Arabs, the issues at hand are applicable world wide, and hence interesting for all people of all nations. Acting and casting are very believable, and you are carried away easily with the actions and reactions of the different participants. The good cop/bad cop role switching of our main character is remarkable, and overall she seems very competent in her MP job. I was left a bit unclear about the role of the general who appears in the end. Firstly, he understandably defends his officers and tries very hard to convince her that she acted wrongly. Secondly, he seemed to turn 180 degrees, and left suddenly without enlightening us why he did what he did.

Of course, these are small tidbits and pale before the overall very positive impression that this film left. What else could I do than scoring a 5 (highest) for the audience award when leaving the theater??

I screened Bar Ziv's film at the Tribeca Film Festival in April, and it is excellent!

The female lead, Anna, is played by Asia Naifeld, and her performance is amazing. She plays opposite Guy Kapulnik, who is also great. Anna conducts the investigation in a 3x3 metre room, where she interrogates those accused of abuse while contending with personal calls from her ageing mother (hilarious).

Anna is under pressure from her superiors to close the investigation and exonerate the soldiers, but she is relentless. The camera work is masterful, using long fixed shots which capture every emotion. The room is a microcosm of contemporary Israeli society. The ending - dramatic and unexpected - is open to debate.