Rock the Casbah

Having seen this film a couple times, I absolutely love it. The story is intense and poignantly told through great acting and filmmaking. There is even authentic humor amidst the horrible circumstances that allow audiences to identify with characters from all sides. The music is also quite excellent. It's complex, beautifully shot, and absolutely gripping with standout performances throughout. Highly recommended to anyone interested in the subject, as well as anyone interested in the subtle (yet very real) human dramas that unfold for soldiers/ families/ kids in the presence of combat and religious conflict.

I saw this film at the Ghent (Belgium) film festival 2013, as part of the section Global Cinema. The Israeli-Palestinian conflict is something we have seen in the news as long as I live, and I have given up on understanding what all this hostility and bloodshed is about. It looks like a stalemate situation without end. Even worse, since the word "settlements" made its appearance, I have the feeling that the conflict only seemed to escalate, with a peaceful solution getting farther away than ever before. Alas, the effect on the people involved does not get that much attention in the media. It was a reason for me to book tickets for this movie, in spite of it covering a topic that I usually avoid, usually arousing heated disputes even in the country where I live, not giving much hope for a sensible argument.

The synopsis on the festival website promised exactly aforementioned showcasing of the impact on "people in the street". After having seen this film I can only confirm that it lives up to these promises to its full extent. Though it seems to zoom in on one freshly arrived soldier in particular, it broadens its horizon very often, also involving the people around him on both sides of the metaphorical fence. And the fence is metaphorical indeed. I was very surprised to see poorly trained soldiers dispatched in the streets, armed with all sorts of heavy weaponry, but nevertheless relatively defenseless against local people who ambush them where possible and throw all sort of things to the soldiers.

The story begins when someone unknown drops a washing machine from the top of a house, killing one of the fresh soldiers at once. A group of his colleagues is assigned to guard the area using that same house as an observation post, thereby heavily interfering with the daily routine of the family that lives there. What they are trying to achieve from that spot, is not very clear because of the obvious fact (we can see with our own eyes) that the rooftop could easily be reached from other houses in the neighborhood. That is precisely the reason why the attacker who threw the washing machine in the first place, could get away with this action easily.

Soldiers and family involuntarily have to live together for some days, unwillingly forced to share the front door and stairs. The different attitudes on both sides get more prominent every day. Also, there are some among both sides who do not pull harmoniously together. That is precisely the beauty of this plot and the circumstances these people find themselves in. The soldiers are merely longing for the end of their engagement, their only purpose being to keep their heads low and not getting hurt in the process. The people living in the area just want to be left in peace, but also know how powerful they can be when joining forces against the intruders. The people try as much as possible to make the lives of the soldiers as difficult as possible, using ambushes, guerrilla tactics, or they just overpower soldiers on the street by their numbers.

All in all, a compelling plot and a perfect décor, precisely to show us what the synopsis of this film promised. We are in a perfect position to follow soldiers from very close by, at the same time also showing the citizens from a near distance. We are invited to feel along with both parties as much as possible from our safe distance. Extra complications that arise from language differences, are nicely demonstrated too, for instance when a young boy gets his hand on a grenade, just to play a "hands up" game he sees on television. I cannot identify myself fully with either party on the political level. Nevertheless I felt absorbed by the situation and how the story develops. No spoiler alert is needed when I say there is no happy ending. This movie ranked 18th for the audience award, with score 4.08 out of 5, still not bad but in comparison with the competition I think it deserved better.

Back before Israel pulled all its troops and settlers out of Gaza, there were Israelis picketing with signs that said "If you flee Gaza, Gaza will pursue you." In fact, that is what happened. As of this writing, the Gazans have no Israeli soldiers to throw stones at any more, but they're lobbing missiles at Israeli civilians. Anyway, this movie takes us back to those previous days, certainly no picnic, when Israeli soldiers patrolled inside Gaza. With the skill, weapons, and numbers at their disposal, the Israeli soldiers are unable to keep order. They can't plan past the next moment; threats go unimplemented and promises go unfilled. The only thing constant is the unpredictability. In such a setting, a well-constructed plot isn't easily spun. This time, meaning no offense to the photography and music, the task of holding attention falls to the dialogue and characterization; and both are quite professional but the lack of a structured story arc from scene to scene is still felt. Moreover, the same characters come along by coincidence again and again, which would be fine if the movie were a stylized parable but doesn't come off well when the situations are being played for realism. Still, although I never served in Gaza, I think that future generations could do worse than watch this movie as a reminder of why Israel was so strongly tempted to leave Gaza despite the warnings that leaving would do no good.

Rock Ba-Casba (2012) Poster: "Rock in The Casbah", viewed at the 2012 LA Israeli Film Festival, is a debut feature by Yarivz Horowitz, a former military field photographer, who witnessed the kind of action we see in this film first hand. While this is a fiction film it is so close to the actual realities on the ground that it reads almost like a documentary. In 1989 five raw Israeli recruits are sent to Ghaza and told the action to quell the Intafada will be over in a week. In actual fact it lasted many months. They are immediately confronted by hails of rocks and deadly molotov cocktails thrown by the youth of the town and one of them is killed by a washing machine dropped from the roof of a building. The soldiers are frustrated by the fact that they are not permitted to use live ammunition, only rubber bullets and tear gas. The roof of the building is taken over as an observation post by the remaining four soldiers but to get there they must pass through the apartment of the family from where the washing machine came. They set up camp and play loud rock music on a ghetto blaster to pass the time while subsisting on horrible canned C-rations. From below they are constantly taunted by a horde of Arab youths. The rock music on the roof, the rocks launched at them as weapons, and the general rocking of the tranquility of life in the Palestinian Ghetto all merge and vibrate together in the title of this hard Israeli look at a no-win situation.

The father denies any knowledge of where the fatal washing machine came from although it is his son who dropped it. Many confrontations with the Arab family occur. They claim the soldiers have no right to invade their privacy and are aghast when one of them brings a pet dog through their quarters -- anathema in an Islamic household. The father pleads with them to leave the premises so that others around will not see him as a collaborator. Just about every issue between Jews and Arabs one can think of comes up in the course of the film and the Israeli soldiers, especially their brutal commander, are depicted almost like Nazis invading Jewish households, with their disrespect for local customs. But one of the soldiers is an out-and-out Pacifist and complains that he was recruited to fight enemy soldiers, not civilians. This is the entire tenor of the film --addressing among other things, the hard question of how much right do Israeli soldiers have to hassle civilians in the defense of Israel? In the end, when the washing machine assailant is spotted among a group of stone throwers, it is the pacifist who pulls the trigger to kill him. This picture can easily be seen as pro-Palestinian, but just as easily as a defense of what Israeli soldiers are called upon do in the line of duty to guarantee the survival of their country -- a sympathetic portrayal of non-professional soldiers caught up in an impossible situation surrounded by hostile hate-filled Palestinian civilians --and therefore as a Pro-Israeli view. Director Horowitz stated that it was his intention not to take sides but to show the messy situation as it is with all the unpleasant realities and paradoxes involved and this he has done almost beyond the call of duty. However you look at it "Rock Ba-Casbah" is a very powerful film and will rock audiences whatever their political persuasion. Be careful, however, not to get it confused with another Israeli film called "Rock THE Casbah" which is a light comedy a light year away.