Kippur

Taking place during the Yom Kippur War in 1973, Amos Gitai's Kippur begins with a seemingly unrelated scene: two lovers smeared with paint coupling on a sheet, before cutting to documentary-style shooting--long, mostly unbroken shots (and realistic sounds) of infantry fighting. Told largely from the point of view of two Israeli soldiers, there is an inordinate focus on routine rescue activities--stretcher carrying and the like--that involve getting wounded soldiers out of harm's way and into medical treatment. Although authentic looking, this of sort of quotidian detail does get wearisome after a while--particularly since it takes the place of an involving narrative. An optional purchase. (T. Rich)