Beaufort (2007)

86% of critics liked it
(51 reviews)
70% of users liked it
(2,654 ratings)

The title of Joseph Cedar's war drama Beaufort refers to the name of a fortress held by Israeli troops, during that country's contentious occupation of Lebanon from 1982-2000 -- an effort that Israel roundly lost. The film itself opens at the tail end of that occupation. It follows Liraz Liberti,… More The title of Joseph Cedar's war drama Beaufort refers to the name of a fortress held by Israeli troops, during that country's contentious occupation of Lebanon from 1982-2000 -- an effort that Israel roundly lost. The film itself opens at the tail end of that occupation. It follows Liraz Liberti, the then-22-year-old leader of troops occupying Beaufort, as he and his subordinates come face to face with the necessity of withdrawal. As enemy fire bombards the fortress, Liraz recognizes that it will be necessary to evacuate, obliterating the structure that his men have spent two decades defending. Oshri Cohen, Itay Tiran, Eli Eltonyo, and Ohad Knoller co-star. ~ Nathan Southern, Rovi

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Rating, Runtime: Unrated, 2 hr. 11 min.
Directed By: Joseph Cedar
Written By: Joseph Cedar, Ron Leshem
Genres: Drama, Action & Adventure

In Theaters: Jan 18, 2008 Wide
On DVD: Sep 1, 2008
Studio: Kino International

Critic Reviews

Kamal Al-Solaylee, Globe and Mail
Clearly something has gone MIA in moving from the small pictures into a cohesive big one.
Linda Barnard, Toronto Star
As long as soldiers have gone into battle they have struggled with the rightness of their actions and their purpose in the field -- no matter how firm their resolve at the outset.
Andrea Gronvall, Chicago Reader
[A] blistering antiwar film.
Stephen Hunter, Washington Post
The camera never leaves the beleaguered compound, and Beaufort itself becomes a character in the story, a surrealistic zone of tunnels, bunkers and sandbags, about as far from the possibility of heroism as possible.
Jonathan F. Richards, Film.com
It makes an urgent case for the futility of most wars, which serve immediate political goals that afterward don't seem terribly important.
Nell Minow, Denver Post
[Director Joseph] Cedar gives a surreal, dreamlike quality to many scenes, underscoring the soldiers' isolation.
Nora Lee Mandel, Film-Forward.com
Powerful portrait of an officer and his soldiers facing up to what it means to serve in an army of a fallible, democratic country that spins an explosive pyrrhic victory
Jeff Vice, Deseret News, Salt Lake City
It doesn't come like a full-length, filmed history lesson at all. In fact, it's a pretty fascinating, sometimes disturbing tale about the emotional and physical toll of combat.
Matthew Turner, ViewLondon
Engaging war drama that subtly mixes in several different genres to intriguing effect, though it occasionally relies too heavily on cliches.
Liz Braun, Jam! Movies
The film is slow and rather too long (and a bit preachy), but always intense, and its intentions are certainly clear.
Daniel M. Kimmel, The Jewish Advocate
In the end [it] isn't about victory or defeat... It's about surviving another day, doing one's job, and getting back to family.
Rob Thomas, Capital Times (Madison, WI)
Even if they do finally get to leave, the film's dispiriting message seems to tell us, in eight centuries there will probably be a new set of soldiers guarding Beaufort.
Marty Mapes, Movie Habit
Culturally specific war movie leaves non-Israelis wondering what we missed
Patrick Peters, Empire Magazine
This Oscar-nominated drama makes excellent use of its location and ensemble cast.
Eric D. Snider, EricDSnider.com
A fine war picture, one that spotlights war's wastefulness and futility, and humanizes its soldier characters.
Tim Robey, Daily Telegraph
A war drama about waiting, and the director, Joseph Cedar, does a terrific job hanging danger and crushing tedium in the air, side by side.
Andrew Pulver, Guardian [UK]
Despite the unremitting focus on the claustrophobia of outpost life, it's hard to ignore the by-now hoary tropes of the war movie with which Cedar litters his screenplay.

Read all 17 critic reviews

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Featured Audience Ratings

Randy T

A fantastic offering from Israel depicting the comradeship between soldiers assigned to an isolated outpost in Lebanon. Director Joseph Cedar centers the focus on his characters by putting the camera right down in the trenches with them. Other than their mortars and missiles you… More
A fantastic offering from Israel depicting the comradeship between soldiers assigned to an isolated outpost in Lebanon. Director Joseph Cedar centers the focus on his characters by putting the camera right down in the trenches with them. Other than their mortars and missiles you never even see the enemy, increasing the sense of isolation and (sometimes) despair. A fitting tribute to the brave men who actually served at Beaufort.
Walter M

[font=Century Gothic]"Beaufort" takes place at a medieval fort in southern Lebanon which was captured by the Israeli army in 1982 in a controversial battle.(Years later, there are debates concerning whether an order to attack was ever given.) 18 years later and the war is… More
[font=Century Gothic]"Beaufort" takes place at a medieval fort in southern Lebanon which was captured by the Israeli army in 1982 in a controversial battle.(Years later, there are debates concerning whether an order to attack was ever given.) 18 years later and the war is winding down but hostilities have not quite ceased. To prove that point, Hezbollah have planted an explosive device on the road out. In response, the Israeli army have sent a bomb squad expert, Ziv(Ohad Knoller), to defuse and study it but he is not quite sure he can. Regardless, the commanding officer, Liraz(Oshri Cohen), strongly disagrees and wants the bomb removed anyway...[/font] [font=Century Gothic]"Beaufort" is a moving film about the futility of war against an enemy who is never seen, the soldiers never being allowed to patrol beyond the confines of their outpost.(The outpost itself is undermanned and mannequins are employed to fill in the gaps.) The movie perfectly captures the feel of combat which I have heard described as long periods of tedium, broken up by sheer moments of terror. But this is also where the movie stumbles badly by setting up a couple of manipulative and predictable sequences, topped off by a prolonged ending. In the end, there is something deeply tragic about a war started by one generation, only to be finished by the next.(Hopefully, this does not happen with Iraq.) [/font]
Lizzy B

A very sad true story of the group of soldiers that was left to guard a mountain fort during the Lebanon war, Beaufort gives you an utter feeling of hopelessness. Its filmed with fluid motion photography which at first makes you unsure whether this is a motion picture of a… More
A very sad true story of the group of soldiers that was left to guard a mountain fort during the Lebanon war, Beaufort gives you an utter feeling of hopelessness. Its filmed with fluid motion photography which at first makes you unsure whether this is a motion picture of a documentary. The movie begins in the middle of their service as new recruits come in and others finish their terms. They all discuss why they think they are there and whether or not they feel it is worth it to risk their lives for something they didn't even start. The movie is a psychological exercise of what is right and what is wrong which I always find worth seeing.