Israeli films are not on my daily (film)menu. In fact I think I have seen only two of them. "Waltz with Bashir" (2008, Ari Folman) and "Foxtrot" (2017, Samuel Maoz). Both films have dances in their titles and in both films the memories of the directors of their time in the Lebanon war of 1982 was one of the inspirational forces.
This is not to say that "Foxtrot" is a war movie. Far from that. I would rather describe it as a movie about the whimsicality of fate, who cares little about human plans. In this respect the film has something in common with the old Greek mythology.
The film consists of three episodes, all of which have a very different mood.
The first episode is situated in the (luxurious) apartment in Tel Aviv of the parents. It tells the story of the father and the prominent emotion is anger.
The second episode is situated in a remote army camp. It tells the story of the son. The prominent feeling is that of innocence.
The third episode is once again situated in the apartment in Tel Aviv. It tells the story of the mother. Its prominent mood is that of grieving and resignation.
The description above suggets that the structure of the movie is clear to the viewer while watching. This is not the case. During the second episode for example it remains in doubt for a long time if the main character is really the son of the parents of the first episode or someone else.
The foxtrot from the title is danced in every episode. In the first episode by the grandmother in her retirement home, in the second episode by the son with his gun as dancing partner and in the final episode by the parents. In this final episode the father explains that the foxtrot is a dance whereby you always return to the same starting point. There must be a symbolic significance in that, although I don't really know what it is.
A symbolism I did understand was the tradition to pass along a family heirloom across generations. Originally this heirloom was a Jewish Bible, until the father traded this Bible for an edition of the Playboy magazine. This exchange did however not alter the tradition, so when the son became an adult he receives this episode of playboy. In an interview the director said that passing along a playboy is celebaring life just as much as passing along a Bible.
I am not sure how this statement was appreciated by the more orthodox segment of the Israeli population. What definitely was not appreciated by the Isreali army was that the second segment showed some useless violence against Palestinian people. Violence that afterwards was hushed up.
This is not to say that "Foxtrot" is a war movie. Far from that. I would rather describe it as a movie about the whimsicality of fate, who cares little about human plans. In this respect the film has something in common with the old Greek mythology.
The film consists of three episodes, all of which have a very different mood.
The first episode is situated in the (luxurious) apartment in Tel Aviv of the parents. It tells the story of the father and the prominent emotion is anger.
The second episode is situated in a remote army camp. It tells the story of the son. The prominent feeling is that of innocence.
The third episode is once again situated in the apartment in Tel Aviv. It tells the story of the mother. Its prominent mood is that of grieving and resignation.
The description above suggets that the structure of the movie is clear to the viewer while watching. This is not the case. During the second episode for example it remains in doubt for a long time if the main character is really the son of the parents of the first episode or someone else.
The foxtrot from the title is danced in every episode. In the first episode by the grandmother in her retirement home, in the second episode by the son with his gun as dancing partner and in the final episode by the parents. In this final episode the father explains that the foxtrot is a dance whereby you always return to the same starting point. There must be a symbolic significance in that, although I don't really know what it is.
A symbolism I did understand was the tradition to pass along a family heirloom across generations. Originally this heirloom was a Jewish Bible, until the father traded this Bible for an edition of the Playboy magazine. This exchange did however not alter the tradition, so when the son became an adult he receives this episode of playboy. In an interview the director said that passing along a playboy is celebaring life just as much as passing along a Bible.
I am not sure how this statement was appreciated by the more orthodox segment of the Israeli population. What definitely was not appreciated by the Isreali army was that the second segment showed some useless violence against Palestinian people. Violence that afterwards was hushed up.