Room 514

The impact of the occupation of Palestinian territory on the Israeli psyche is examined obliquely by writer-director Sharon Bar-Ziv in this small but intense film, set at a military interrogation center where a female investigator questions members of an army unit about charges that they mistreated an Arab civilian at a checkpoint. Although Anna (Asia Naifeld) is warned by her superior (and sometime lover) that she should drop the case due to political ramifications that could damage her future prospects in the law, she pushes ahead, eventually persuading a sergeant to reveal abusive conduct by the arrogant company commander, who—when pressed—argues that it is sometimes necessary to violate the civil rights of individuals in order to protect the larger community. Making a virtue of low-budget necessity, Bar-Ziv stresses the claustrophobia of the interrogation room through jittery handheld camerawork and extreme but often off-center close-ups, while employing hallucinatory montages to reflect the heroine's inner turmoil. Room 514 effectively explores the issue of balancing justice and security in a dangerous world—a dilemma that confronts not only Israel, but other nations as well. Recommended. (F. Swietek)