Foxtrot * * * 1/2

          I don't know if this was originally a play but that's how it comes across: Act 1 The parents home,  Act 2 The army checkpoint, Act 3 The parents home.

         Foxtrot has been getting some great write-ups but to be honest I didn't like it much.  Sure its a good piece of drama but its just so oppressive and long winded.

Foxtrot?  I'll sit this one out thanks.

        Set in modern day Israel a middle class couple are told their son Jonathon has died in battle "Fallen" as they say.  The parents break down.  The mother is so overwhelmed with grief she has to be comatosed. The  father is angry broken and bitter.  But another truth is to be revealed.....

        So after seeing their anguish and anger we go to the checkpoint where their son is/was stationed.  It's an appalling facility.  Nothing more than a boom gate and a converted shipping container for an office. There are four soldiers who work there.  It's a cold and dirty environment.  Not much traffic comes through but it's their job to check each vehicle.  The shipping container is sinking in the mire - all rather symbolic I guess.
       One day an awful mistake is made by the soldiers at the checkpoint. But rather than making the soldiers face up to it, the army help them cover it up.
       The third part is the parents situation sometime after the initial event.  Their marriage has fallen apart, their lives are miserable, but can there be some hope?
       It's a well written, well acted, frequently symbolic film, with some clever twists and disturbing scenes, but it's not much fun to watch.  Nearly everyone is stupid or disrespectful. I was glad when it was over, I was sick of all of them.