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''Kippur'' (כיפור) is a 2000
Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...
i drama
war film War film is a film genre concerned with warfare, typically about naval, air, or land battles, with combat scenes central to the drama. It has been strongly associated with the 20th century. The fateful nature of battle scenes means that war fi ...
directed by
Amos Gitai Amos Gitai ( he, עמוס גיתאי; born 11 October 1950) is an Israeli filmmaker, who was trained as an architect. Gitai's work was presented in several major retrospectives in Pompidou Center in Paris, the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) and L ...
. The storyline was conceived from a screenplay written by Gitai and Marie-Jose Sanselme; based on Gitai's own experiences as a member of a helicopter rescue crew during the 1973
Yom Kippur War The Yom Kippur War, also known as the Ramadan War, the October War, the 1973 Arab–Israeli War, or the Fourth Arab–Israeli War, was an armed conflict fought from October 6 to 25, 1973 between Israel and a coalition of Arab states led by Egy ...
. The film stars actors Liron Levo, Tomer Russo and Uri Klauzner in principal roles. A joint collective effort to commit to the film's production was made by
Canal+ Canal+ (Canal Plus, , meaning 'Channel Plus'; sometimes abbreviated C+ or Canal) is a French premium television channel launched in 1984. It is 100% owned by the Groupe Canal+, which in turn is owned by Vivendi. The channel broadcasts several ki ...
and Agav Hafakot studios. It was commercially distributed by
Kino International The Kino International is a film theater in Berlin, built from 1961 to 1963. It is located on Karl-Marx-Allee in former East Berlin. It hosted premieres of the DEFA film studios until the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989. Today it is a protected ...
theatrically, and by Kino Video for home media. Following its cinematic release, the film was entered into the
2000 Cannes Film Festival The 53rd Cannes Film Festival started on 14 May and ran until 25 May 2000. French film director, screenwriter, and producer Luc Besson was the Jury President. The Palme d'Or went to the Danish film ''Dancer in the Dark'' by Lars von Trier. The fe ...
among other awards selections. ''Kippur'' explores war, politics, and human rescue. ''Kippur'' premiered in theaters nationwide in Israel on October 5, 2000. The film was screened through limited release in the United States on November 3, 2000 grossing $114,283 in domestic ticket receipts. In the U.S., ''Kippur'' was at its widest release showing in 5 theaters nationwide. It was generally met with positive critical reviews before its initial screening in cinemas.


Plot

It is October 6, 1973, and
Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediter ...
along with
Syria Syria ( ar, سُورِيَا or سُورِيَة, translit=Sūriyā), officially the Syrian Arab Republic ( ar, الجمهورية العربية السورية, al-Jumhūrīyah al-ʻArabīyah as-Sūrīyah), is a Western Asian country loc ...
have continued their undeclared war on Israel by launching attacks in the
Sinai Peninsula The Sinai Peninsula, or simply Sinai (now usually ) (, , cop, Ⲥⲓⲛⲁ), is a peninsula in Egypt, and the only part of the country located in Asia. It is between the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Red Sea to the south, and is a l ...
and
Golan Heights The Golan Heights ( ar, هَضْبَةُ الْجَوْلَانِ, Haḍbatu l-Jawlān or ; he, רמת הגולן, ), or simply the Golan, is a region in the Levant spanning about . The region defined as the Golan Heights differs between di ...
. Weinraub (Liron Levo) and his friend Ruso (Tomer Ruso) are Israeli reservists in the
Egoz Reconnaissance Unit Unit 621, otherwise known as Egoz ( he, יחידת אגוז, ''Yehidat Egoz''. lit. "Nut"), is an elite Israel Defense Forces (IDF) commando unit specializing in guerrilla warfare, special reconnaissance, and direct action (military). It is a pa ...
who are called to reserve duty to fight in the surprise conflict. The two make their way to the Golan Heights to locate their reserve unit. However, during the chaotic circumstances, they never find it, and end up sleeping by the side of the road. The next morning, they are awakened by Dr. Klauzner (Uri Klauzner), who asks for a ride to
Ramat David Ramat David ( he, רָמַת דָּוִד, ''lit.'' David Heights) is a kibbutz in northern Israel. Located in the Jezreel Valley near Ramat David Airbase, it falls under the jurisdiction of Jezreel Valley Regional Council. In it had a population ...
where he serves on the
air force base An air base (sometimes referred to as a military air base, military airfield, military airport, air station, naval air station, air force station, or air force base) is an aerodrome used as a military base by a military force for the operation ...
there. After transporting Dr. Klauzner to the base, Weinraub and Ruso agree to volunteer with a first-aid rescue team. Their ongoing mission involves evacuating dead and wounded soldiers from the battlefield. Later on October 10, their helicopter crew is deployed to Syria for a
covert operation A covert operation is a military operation intended to conceal the identity of (or allow plausible deniability by) the party that instigated the operation. Covert operations should not be confused with clandestine operations, which are performe ...
. During their mission, the helicopter is struck by a missile, killing one of the co-pilots and injuring everyone on board. Weinraub and Ruso are among those who survive, and are picked by another rescue helicopter. They become patients at a field hospital, thus ending their role in the war.


Cast


Production


Development

The premise of ''Kippur'' is based on the true story of the
Yom Kippur War The Yom Kippur War, also known as the Ramadan War, the October War, the 1973 Arab–Israeli War, or the Fourth Arab–Israeli War, was an armed conflict fought from October 6 to 25, 1973 between Israel and a coalition of Arab states led by Egy ...
, as told by the personal account of Israeli army reservists. On October 6, 1973, the Egyptian army launched a large scale offensive against Israeli positions in the
Sinai Peninsula The Sinai Peninsula, or simply Sinai (now usually ) (, , cop, Ⲥⲓⲛⲁ), is a peninsula in Egypt, and the only part of the country located in Asia. It is between the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Red Sea to the south, and is a l ...
which was followed by a second attack by Syria from the
Golan Heights The Golan Heights ( ar, هَضْبَةُ الْجَوْلَانِ, Haḍbatu l-Jawlān or ; he, רמת הגולן, ), or simply the Golan, is a region in the Levant spanning about . The region defined as the Golan Heights differs between di ...
in the north. the sudden defeats and considerable loss of life that occurred at the beginning of the conflict handed down a terrible psychological blow to Israelis. Previously, the Israeli military believed it was invulnerable in the region.Rabinovich, 497–498 On April 11, 1974, prime minister
Golda Meir Golda Meir, ; ar, جولدا مائير, Jūldā Māʾīr., group=nb (born Golda Mabovitch; 3 May 1898 – 8 December 1978) was an Israeli politician, teacher, and ''kibbutznikit'' who served as the fourth prime minister of Israel from 1969 to 1 ...
resigned with her cabinet followed suit, including chief of staff
Moshe Dayan Moshe Dayan ( he, משה דיין; 20 May 1915 – 16 October 1981) was an Israeli military leader and politician. As commander of the Jerusalem front in the 1948 Arab–Israeli War, Chief of Staff of the Israel Defense Forces (1953–1958) du ...
.
Yitzhak Rabin Yitzhak Rabin (; he, יִצְחָק רַבִּין, ; 1 March 1922 – 4 November 1995) was an Israeli politician, statesman and general. He was the fifth Prime Minister of Israel, serving two terms in office, 1974–77, and from 1992 until h ...
, who had spent most of the war as an advisor to Elazar in an unofficial capacity, became head of the new government, which was seated in June. The
Israeli National Security Council The National Security Council (NSC) ( he, המטה לביטחון לאומי ''HaMateh leBitachon Leumi'') is Israel's central body for coordination, integration, analysis and monitoring in the field of national security and is the staff forum on ...
was created to improve coordination between the different
security Security is protection from, or resilience against, potential harm (or other unwanted coercive change) caused by others, by restraining the freedom of others to act. Beneficiaries (technically referents) of security may be of persons and social ...
and
intelligence Intelligence has been defined in many ways: the capacity for abstraction, logic, understanding, self-awareness, learning, emotional knowledge, reasoning, planning, creativity, critical thinking, and problem-solving. More generally, it can b ...
bodies, and the political branch of government. The emotional impact on the individual Israeli soldiers is expanded upon in the film. Gitai, Amos (Director). (2000). ''Kippur'' otion picture Israel:
Kino International The Kino International is a film theater in Berlin, built from 1961 to 1963. It is located on Karl-Marx-Allee in former East Berlin. It hosted premieres of the DEFA film studios until the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989. Today it is a protected ...
.
The complete transformation from a quiet civilian life to a chaotic war scene is depicted in the storyline. The Israeli soldiers cope with assisting dead and seriously wounded troops, while taking enemy fire.


Filming

The film is largely autobiographical, based on Gitai's own experiences as a member of a helicopter rescue crew during the war. Scenes were shot with the assistance of the Israeli Defense Forces which provided much of the military equipment used in the film. Most of the characters are named after the actors who play them, with the exception of the title character, who is given only the last name Weinraub, which was Amos Gitai's family name until his father changed it to the Hebrew name Gitai. The helicopter crash that ends the film actually happened. Gitai's helicopter was shot down by a Syrian missile on his 23rd birthday. The co-pilot was killed and several others wounded. Gitai reportedly considered it the pivotal moment of his life.


Music

The score for the film was originally composed by musician
Jan Garbarek Jan Garbarek () (born 4 March 1947) is a Norwegian jazz saxophonist, who is also active in classical music and world music. Garbarek was born in Mysen, Østfold, southeastern Norway, the only child of a former Polish prisoner of war, Czesław ...
. The sound effects in the film were supervised by Alex Claude. The mixing of the sound effects were orchestrated by Philippe Amouroux and Cyril Holtz while being supervised by Eli Yarkoni.


Reception


Critical response

Among mainstream critics in the U.S., the film received mostly positive reviews.Kippur
Metacritic Metacritic is a website that review aggregator, aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted arithmetic mean, weighted average). M ...
. CNET Networks. Retrieved 2010-10-17.
Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wang ...
reported that 79% of 19 sampled critics gave the film a positive review, with an average score of 6.6 out of 10.Kippur (2000)
Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wang ...
. IGN Entertainment. Retrieved 2010-10-17.
At
Metacritic Metacritic is a website that review aggregator, aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted arithmetic mean, weighted average). M ...
, which assigns a
weighted average The weighted arithmetic mean is similar to an ordinary arithmetic mean (the most common type of average), except that instead of each of the data points contributing equally to the final average, some data points contribute more than others. The ...
out of 100 to critics' reviews, the film received a score of 75 based on 15 reviews. The film was entered into the
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and
Cannes Cannes ( , , ; oc, Canas) is a city located on the French Riviera. It is a communes of France, commune located in the Alpes-Maritimes departments of France, department, and host city of the annual Cannes Film Festival, Midem, and Cannes Lions I ...
film festivals and received a nomination for the Peace Award from the
Political Film Society Politics (from , ) is the set of activities that are associated with making decisions in groups, or other forms of power relations among individuals, such as the distribution of resources or status. The branch of social science that studies ...
. Kevin Thomas, writing in the ''
Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the Un ...
'' said, ''Kippur'' was a "classic war film, at once elegiac and immediate, that takes you smack into the chaos of combat yet is marked by a detached perspective." Lisa Schwarzbaum in ''
Entertainment Weekly ''Entertainment Weekly'' (sometimes abbreviated as ''EW'') is an American digital-only entertainment magazine based in New York City, published by Dotdash Meredith, that covers film, television, music, Broadway theatre, books, and popular cul ...
'' offered a mostly positive review commenting, "Amos Gitai's intense, autobiographically based drama is set during Israel's 1973 Yom Kippur War, but current Middle East tensions add urgency to this stark study in the unglorious matter of factness of battle." She expressed satisfaction by saying, "this sobering antiwar war movie is his rueful acknowledgment of those who fight with no Godot in sight."Schwarzbaum, Lisa (November 10, 2000)
Kippur (2000)
''
Entertainment Weekly ''Entertainment Weekly'' (sometimes abbreviated as ''EW'') is an American digital-only entertainment magazine based in New York City, published by Dotdash Meredith, that covers film, television, music, Broadway theatre, books, and popular cul ...
''. Retrieved 2010-10-17.
In ''
The Village Voice ''The Village Voice'' is an American news and culture paper, known for being the country's first alternative newsweekly. Founded in 1955 by Dan Wolf, Ed Fancher, John Wilcock, and Norman Mailer, the ''Voice'' began as a platform for the crea ...
'', critic J. Hoberman reserved compliment for the lead acting and directing saying, "Gitai's strategy encourages the viewer to ponder the logistics of war—as well as those of filming war." He noted though, that the "ensemble acting sometimes falters, and due to Gitai's camera placement, it can be difficult to distinguish between the various characters—although Klauzner establishes an indelible identity in a brief moment of downtime when he discusses his childhood in Europe during World War II."
A.O. Scott Anthony Oliver Scott (born July 10, 1966) is an American journalist and cultural critic. He has been chief film critic for ''The New York Times'' since 2004, a title he shares with Manohla Dargis. Early life Scott was born on July 10, 1966 in ...
writing in ''
The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
'' came to believe, "The relentless attention to the sheer awfulness of war, which is the film's great strength, is also something of a shortcoming. Mr. Gitai reproduces the numb horror of wading through fields of gore almost too well: the self-protective response is to shut down your emotions, as the characters do. ''Kippur'' immerses you in violence and agony, but it may leave you with a curious feeling of detachment."Scott, A.O. (October 5, 2000)
FILM FESTIVAL REVIEW; The Reality Of War, Traffic Jams And All
''
The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
''. Retrieved 2010-10-17.
Sean Axmaker of the ''
Seattle Post-Intelligencer The ''Seattle Post-Intelligencer'' (popularly known as the ''Seattle P-I'', the ''Post-Intelligencer'', or simply the ''P-I'') is an online newspaper and former print newspaper based in Seattle, Washington, United States. The newspaper was foun ...
'', felt ''Kippur'' was "almost abstract in its portrait of confusion. Long, numbing scenes of soldiers rushing through the war zone with the wounded and returning for more are accompanied by an overwhelming soundtrack of tanks, helicopters and explosions." He also reserved praise for director Gitai, saying he "captures a chaotic portrait of the war with no glory, only the confusion, fear, and fatigue of a tour under fire." Author G.A. of ''
Time Out Time-out, Time Out, or timeout may refer to: Time * Time-out (sport), in various sports, a break in play, called by a team * Television timeout, a break in sporting action so that a commercial break may be taken * Timeout (computing), an enginee ...
'' called the film "impressive" while remarking "Gitai's autobiographically inspired account of the harrowing experiences of a first-aid team in the aftermath of Syria and Egypt's surprise attack on Israel in October 1973 typically features long, sinuous takes to chart the way in which patriotic enthusiasm is steadily eroded and replaced by fatigue and disillusionment."G.A. (November 2000)
Kippur
''
Time Out Time-out, Time Out, or timeout may refer to: Time * Time-out (sport), in various sports, a break in play, called by a team * Television timeout, a break in sporting action so that a commercial break may be taken * Timeout (computing), an enginee ...
''. Retrieved 2010-10-17.
In a mixed review, Fred Camper writing for the ''
Chicago Reader The ''Chicago Reader'', or ''Reader'' (stylized as ЯEADER), is an American alternative weekly newspaper in Chicago, Illinois, noted for its literary style of journalism and coverage of the arts, particularly film and theater. It was founded by a ...
'' felt director "Gitai plunges the viewer into the reality of modern warfare, in which the enemy is often invisible – we never see the Syrians in Kippur – and battle lines are often unclear." Jack Mathews writing for the ''
NY Daily News The New York ''Daily News'', officially titled the ''Daily News'', is an American newspaper based in Jersey City, NJ. It was founded in 1919 by Joseph Medill Patterson as the ''Illustrated Daily News''. It was the first U.S. daily printed in Ta ...
'', believed that instead of "heightening our sense of empathy, we become numbed by the repetition" of the film. David Sterritt of ''
The Christian Science Monitor ''The Christian Science Monitor'' (''CSM''), commonly known as ''The Monitor'', is a nonprofit news organization that publishes daily articles in electronic format as well as a weekly print edition. It was founded in 1908 as a daily newspaper ...
'' bluntly referred to the film as "Both a blood-churning war movie and a mind-stirring antiwar movie, focusing not on guts and glory but on the stark realities of real battlefield experience." Critic Ken Fox of ''
TV Guide TV Guide is an American digital media company that provides television program Television, sometimes shortened to TV, is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. The term can refer to a television set, or t ...
'' was impressed with Gitai's film calling it "Raw" and "completely devoid of the things one expects from a war film: No heroes, no flag-waving, no screeds against man killing man." He exclaimed, "''Kippur'' is about the actual work of combat." Writer Ella Taylor for ''
LA Weekly ''LA Weekly'' is a free weekly alternative newspaper in Los Angeles, California. It was founded in 1978 by Jay Levin, who served as president and editor until 1991. Voice Media Group sold the paper in late 2017 to Semanal Media LLC, whose paren ...
'' viewed ''Kippur'' as a "radically different – more nakedly autobiographical, more naturalistic, more forgiving – from Gitai's highly conceptual and stylized body of work, there are clear thematic continuities." Left unimpressed though, was critic Michael Rechtshaffen of ''
The Hollywood Reporter ''The Hollywood Reporter'' (''THR'') is an American digital and print magazine which focuses on the Cinema of the United States, Hollywood film industry, film, television, and entertainment industries. It was founded in 1930 as a daily trade pap ...
'' who wrote that the film was "A patience-trying docudrama almost completely devoid of any trace of narrative structure or even defined characters." Critic
Leonard Maltin Leonard Michael Maltin (born December 18, 1950) is an American film critic and film historian, as well as an author of several mainstream books on cinema, focusing on nostalgic, celebratory narratives. He is perhaps best known for his book of fil ...
referred to the film as being "unique" and "a painstaking, grueling picture of war."


Box office

The film premiered in cinemas on November 3, 2000 in limited release throughout the U.S.. During its opening weekend, the film opened in a distant 66th place grossing $17,007 in business showing at 5 locations. The film ''
Charlie's Angels ''Charlie's Angels'' is an American crime drama television series that aired on ABC from September 22, 1976, to June 24, 1981, producing five seasons and 115 episodes. The series was created by Ivan Goff and Ben Roberts and was produced by Aa ...
'' soundly beat its competition during that weekend opening in first place with $40,128,550. The film's revenue dropped by 29% in its second week of release, earning $11,981. For that particular weekend, the film fell to 71st place screening in 4 theaters but not challenging a top fifty position. The film ''Charlie's Angels'', remained in first place grossing $24,606,860 in box office revenue. In its final limited weekend showing in theaters, the film ended up in 99th place grossing $1,978. The film went on to top out domestically at $114,283 in total ticket sales through a 10-week theatrical run. For 2000 as a whole, the film would cumulatively rank at a box office performance position of 303.


Home media

Following its cinematic release in theaters, the film was released in VHS video format on August 28, 2001. The Region 1 Code
widescreen Widescreen images are displayed within a set of aspect ratios (relationship of image width to height) used in film, television and computer screens. In film, a widescreen film is any film image with a width-to-height aspect ratio greater than t ...
edition of the film was also released on
DVD The DVD (common abbreviation for Digital Video Disc or Digital Versatile Disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any kin ...
in the United States on August 28, 2001. Special features for the DVD include; Letterbox 1.85 screen format, stereo audio in Hebrew with English subtitles, and interactive menus with scene access. Currently, there is no scheduled release date set for a future
Blu-ray Disc The Blu-ray Disc (BD), often known simply as Blu-ray, is a Digital media, digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 2005 and released on June 20, 2006 worldwide. It is designed to supersede the DVD format, and c ...
version of the film.


See also

* 2000 in Israeli film


Bibliography

* * * * * * * * * * * * * *


References


External links


Official website

''Kippur''
at The Films of Amos Gitai * *
''Kippur''
at
Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wang ...

''Kippur''
at
Metacritic Metacritic is a website that review aggregator, aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted arithmetic mean, weighted average). M ...

''Kippur''
at
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{{François Chalais Prize 2000 films 2000s war drama films Films about Jews and Judaism Films about the Israel Defense Forces Israeli war drama films Films about the Arab–Israeli conflict Yom Kippur War 2000s Hebrew-language films Films directed by Amos Gitai Films set in the 1970s Films set in 1973 War films based on actual events Films set in Israel 2000 drama films