Ehad Mishelanu

ONE OF US (Ehad Mishelanu)

Aspect ratio: 1.37:1

Sound format: Mono

An unexpected gem from Israeli filmmaker Uri Barbash, whose hard-hitting prison drama BEYOND THE WALLS was released to international acclaim in 1984. ONE OF US is no less engaging: Whilst training together as soldiers in the occupied territories, three inseparable friends (Sharon Alexander, Alon Abutbul and Dan Toren) are tested to the limit when Alexander takes photographs of their hard-ass commander (Shaul Mizrahi) in a compromising situation. Things become ugly when the prank backfires on their fellow squad members, and the three protagonists are forced to take sides against one another, prompting Alexander to request a transfer. Several years later, he returns to the unit in his capacity as a military investigator after Toren is killed by a Palestinian 'terrorist' who appears to have died under interrogation by Abutbul and the men in his command. Once again, Alexander's relationship with Abutbul becomes strained - this time to breaking point - as mounting evidence suggests his beloved friend is hiding a dreadful secret: That he and his buddies tortured a false confession from a potentially innocent man and murdered him in cold blood...

Based on a stage play by screenwriter Benny Barbash (the director's brother), ONE OF US is a study of friendship, loyalty and macho pride in a virtually all-male environment, where devotion to one's comrades is considered more important than moral convictions. Alexander is the catalyst for much of the action, staying true to his principles while everyone around him makes excuses for their own failings, even resorting to violence when Alexander refuses to tow the standard line. However, neither the director or screenwriter has a political axe to grind, and they deliberately sidestep the wider implications of Benny Barbash's volatile screenplay, choosing instead to focus on the situation at hand, and nothing else.

To his credit, director Barbash doesn't shy away from the homo erotic undercurrent which boils quietly beneath the narrative surface: Abutbul's devotion to Alexander manifests itself in lingering kisses and playful terms of endearment ('darling'), but the sexual element is rendered explicit in a scene where Abutbul's nominally heterosexual character makes love to his girlfriend (Dalia Shimko) against a wall-sized projected image of himself, Alexander and Toren, and the camera zooms slowly into their smiling faces as he reaches an off screen climax (Abutbul - a handsome, popular figure in Israeli cinema, who's also played a few minor roles in US movies - was the star of Amos Gutman's BAR 51, one of the few Israeli films at the time to deal openly with gay issues). But while the Barbash brothers use their screenplay to champion the concepts of truth and justice, they refuse to paint their characters in anything less than shades of gray: Abutbul's loyalties bend under pressure, while Alexander's motives for pursuing this divisive case to its bitter end are clouded by the unpleasant manner in which he was forced out of his training unit.

Barbash's straightforward direction is well-suited to the material: He simply points the camera at a talented cast and allows his brother's compelling dialogue to sell the drama. Amnon Salomon's uncluttered camera-work makes a virtue of the sparse Israeli landscape, while Tova Asher's skillful editing maintains a busy tempo. The low-budget production values are ultra-professional throughout.

(Hebrew dialogue)

The Barabash brothers, were famous from their very beginnings as the duo who set out to analyze and expose Israeli men as they are. With all their macho bravado and actual frailties. They were never better than in this superb film. They got the perfect combination of a story that does feel real - in the Israeli reality, much more than in a foreign army as one of the previous reviewers of this movie has pointed out. In-fact even more likely than its being explained in that review. The way mandatory army service works in Israel, the idea is more than possible. Peaple that were together in basic training could meet again in their continued service, especially so if they continue their service beyond the regular three years. And some would often expect that having known each other previously would carry some favors for them if and when they do meet again.

I won't be telling you here how the story develops - spoilers are not my thing but I want to mention one thing that the other reviewers didn't mention - this movie demonstrates a great understanding of the visual aspects of cinema. It speaks the "language" of cinema fluently and with precision rarely seen in Israeli films, while maintaining a feeling of being true. Beyond the Walls, the film that made the Barabash bros. famous, was a well constructed fable about the Israeli situation. Ehad Mishelanu (One of us, or more precisely One of our own) surpasses the limitation of a simple fable, while still having a lot to say about the way things are in Israel. The actors all do their share the camera is perfect. For me that's the bench mark against which Israeli films should be judged.

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.