A Film a Week - The Vanishing Soldier

 previously published on Asian Movie Pulse

Countless films have been made around the premise of people making a decision that turns out to be wrong, which further triggers the chain reaction of events. But when the army, especially Israeli Defence Force (IDF) is involved, the usual SNAFU (Situation Normal All F***ed Up) quickly goes to FUBAR (F***ed Up Beyond All Repair). That would, in short, be the case with Dani Rosenberg’s (of 2020 dramedy “The Death of Cinema and My Father Too” fame) “The Vanishing Soldier” that has just premiered at the main competition of Locarno.

Shlomi (Ido Tako) is an 18-year-old boy drafted in the army and stationed somewhere in the middle of combat zone. When the action comes too close for him, he uses his wits to lag behind and desert from the front line. Is it a conscious decision? An anti-war statement? Or it is just an instinctive reaction of a young man driven by fear or urges of some kind? We would soon find out, but not before the Army authorities learn about his disappearance. That kind of event has to be put in a narrative framework, and for the Army the most suitable would be that he got stranded from his company and is captured by the enemy.

In the meanwhile, we learn that Shlomi is not a coward, a quitter or a frightened young boy prone to panic, and neither he has a strong anti-war and anti-militaristic sentiment. Actually, he is a driven, resourceful young man that comes from a decent family of Israeli patriots that never defied the state. The reason he ran away more or less straight to Tel Aviv is the relationship with his girlfriend Shiri (Mika Reiss) who is preparing to leave the country and go for studies in Canada. But is there a way back for a silly romantic soul that deserted for the reason of mixed signals, and does Shlomi has to face the consequences of his act?…

One can argue that Rosenberg and his co-writer Amir Kliger rely too much on the clichés of silly young people doing silly things, convenient plotting with mostly predictable twist (some of which, like the whole slapsticky thing with the couple of French tourist Shlomi robs of clothes on his way, are played just for laughs) and that Rosenberg’s direction is simply too showy in order to mask the lack of originality in the idea department. But this is not completely true, since Rosenberg demonstrates considerable skills in both of his roles. He masterfully plays with genres, making “The Vanishing Soldier” partly a heart-warming romance, partly a drama, partly an eloquent satire, partly a broad comedy and partly a thriller, and does so in style that is kinetic rather than simply busy.

On his course, he enjoys the help of the exhilarated actors who gladly go into interplays with one another. While the chemistry between the main couple is palpable, there is still a reality check that the relationships of 18-year-olds are made of misunderstandings, misread signals and the selfish motivations sometimes including grand gestures and nonsensical decisions. However, the film moves into a higher comedic gear when Shlomi encounters his concerned parents (Efrat Ben Tzur and Shmulik Cohen), his semi-demented, but still kindhearted grandma (Tikva Dayan) or the aforementioned French couple.

The technical components are not lagging behind either. David Stragmeister cinematography usually in longer, kinetic and tracking takes serves Rosenberg’s vision perfectly, Nili Feller’s editing keeps the beat up throughout the 105 minutes of runtime, offering breaks only when they are absolutely needed, while Yuval Semo’s music adds to the tension up to the boiling point.

The greatest thing about “The Vanishing Soldier”, however, are not the things that are said, openly shown or even that easy to spot. It is never mentioned, but it works as an exposé of the sometimes lethal contradictions of daily life in Israel. It is not just the matter of the country giving a lot of effort to defend itself from its neighbours, but not enough effort in negotiating some kind of functional peace with them. It is about careless partying that can easily be interrupted by the sirens resounding or, in more extreme cases, bombs exploding, of a uniformed soldier being a common sight on the street and on the beach, and of the fact that drafting the 18-year-old kids that are often lovestruck, and even more often impulsive, is never a good idea.