The documentaries, as expected, have become a front of hearts and mind in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, with the filmmakers from all the parts that try to get their stories that put in a particular approach the realities of a destructive war. And it is not necessary to say that, in our current information ecosystem, the context still means everything.
The Canadian documentary filmmaker Barry Avrich may have believed that his new film “The Road among us: The Ultimate Rescue”, which details the incredible effort of the General of the Israeli Defense Force to save his family from a Kibutz besieged during the Hamas attack on October 7, 2023, was simple enough to avoid a fuss. But Avrich won one anyway when the Toronto International Festival of this year scheduled his film, then disinfected it (the rights of dispatch of images were cited), only to re -place it in the alignment after generalized criticisms, and not just Jewish groups. Then he won the Festival's People's Choice award.
However, following the implacable hit Gaza by Israel, Avrich's film will not be the taste of each person. His scheduled audience will see a propellant narrative of disciplined heroism, the type of situation generally hatched by screenwriters who hope to attract the particular set of Liam Neeson skills. And highlighting the self -denominated mission of grandfather Noam Tibon to reach his loved ones, Avrich also understands that, offering “the way between us” as a immersive action thriller. Interlace interviews based on details, including Tibon's own guided tour of its route that day, with images of Hamas Bodycams, security cameras and Dashcams.
On the morning of the attacks, Amir Tibon, his wife, Miri, and his two children were at home at Nahal Oz Kibbutz, near the border of Gaza. Retiring to his safe room after hearing shots just outside his walls, Amir sent a text message to his father, Noam, in Tel Aviv. From there, the ranking and focused on the constant account of the first person of Noam occupies the center of the stage. He says that his first instinct was heading south to the Kibbutz, a journey through the roads that he would soon see full of bodies, shattered cars and terrified people who were looking for refuge. But also, initially, to your surprise, empty of military presence.
A common chorus among the interviewees, including Noam's wife, Gali, who accompanied him during part of that day, is a shock due to the delayed response of his country's security forces. It sounds like something that a film digging on a tragic day of sustained violence might want to explore, but Avrich's dedication to his survival narrative Rambo means that these comments are there, suspended between the conviction and the explanation. When Gali, towards the end, links Israel's failures that day with a later answer that smells of “revenge”, the film feels close to addressing the tacit. Then he does not, and we are trying to reconcile a legitimately exciting story of the terrible experience of a family with what we know about the suffering that happened during the two years of war since then.
The film ultimately treats us as adrenaline addicts, assuming we lack curiosity. Avrich has said that the film is not a political statement, despite the details not examined as the need for Kibbutz of safe rooms in each home or prison fences. What emerges, then, is a story without history, within the simplified parameters, destined to transmit a neighborhood in conflict without mentioning certain neighbors, without any inconvenient perspective. We must always remember that on October 7, “the way between us” articulates justifiably. The compartmentalization of history, however, feels like a bad service to a much broader tragedy.
'The way between us: the best rescue'
Qualification: R, for violent content
Execution time: 1 hour, 35 minutes
Playing: In limited launch on Friday, October 3
