Uma Juventude Como Nenhuma Outra

I enjoy seeing the movie Close to Home on the IFC channel. I think it is also hard for males who have nice personalities to becoming assertive and sometimes assume aggressive roles and overcoming the natural hesitation and shyness especially when they are police officers and/or soldiers.

You can't blame nice guys for being that way when they were brought up to be gentlemen and not taught how to stick up for themselves against rude, aggressive bullies (males and females) and authoritarian figures. Furthermore, if they were to talk back to their officers and sergeants about things that they saw were morally wrong, they would be court-martial for being insubordinate and disrespectful to their superiors. And then the officers,sergeants, and police supervisors would complain about their people not showing initiative or taking charge of a situation. People can't do their jobs on their own if they are always constantly be told to shut up and not do anything unless instruction to do so.

Or Close to Home as the international title goes is a film that tells the story of two young girls in the Israelian army. Their job: checking the identities of people on the street. One somewhat wild, really not wanting the job. One introverted and more eager to do her tasks. So far the setting of this film.

As a film this one works out rather well. The constant grim presence of danger ((suicide) terrorism) is clearly radiating from every scene. The two play convincingly enough to make the roles come alive and even though the pace of the film is rather low it stays interesting all the way through. There's always something going on, how small and insignificant it may be.

Visual effects used are down to Earth and with that a really good match with the general setting of the film. Choice of music has been done equally well and that makes for a very well worked out combination.

All in all a very enjoyable watch, if a little depressing.

8 out of 10 bored soldiers

A thoroughly enjoyable movie about two girls in the Magav (Israeli Border Police), assigned to patrol Jerusalem together but with personalities worlds apart. Mirit is somewhat shy and timid- the 'nice girl next door' type, while Smadar is somewhat of a rebellious wild child. The daily stress of their patrols, spiced up with some humor and a little female bonding, pulls them closer together than further apart, and an unexpected friendship develops. The cast's ample beauty certainly doesn't hurt, but their acting is not to be underestimated either. The audience connects with the characters, and that can't be said about many films these days... highly recommended.

There have been a few Movies about Israeli Women soldiers, But most films about the army have been about Male soldiers. I agree with the comment from Miami that it is so well done that you do not have to be Israeli or Female to enjoy it.

Also I liked it as it has heavy hints about the situation in Israel in recent years with Intifada 2. But the movie is Human and not Political. Filmed mainly in central Jerusalem and is realistic. You see what happens when a "Pigua" (Terror Explosion) happens. But you also see 18 year old Youngsters growing up the hard way. Directed by two Women Vardit Bilu and Dalia Hagar the movie is thru women's eyes.

I lived in Israel in the eighties so I was interested to see if this film was realistic or a bit of soft propaganda. This opinion is based on what I used to see every day on the streets as, not being either Jewish or Israeli, I never had to do the military service myself. But I found the film very realistic and very enjoyable. Being pushed into assertive and sometimes aggressive roles and having to overcome the natural hesitation and shyness prominent in the majority of 18 - 20 year old girls is not a simple task. I thought the actors were totally at ease and natural in their roles. Perhaps they were just playing themselves and reliving their own experiences. I smiled at many of the things I remembered. The messy hair, the giggling, the smoking and eating in the streets. Sometimes you had the impression that they were schoolgirls in uniform and not soldiers. I think all this comes across in the film as does their reluctance at having to be there in the first place. It's a very good film.