Kippur

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. There's not a lot in terms of story, but the sheer, visceral physicality of the mise-en-scène makes the movie engrossing throughout - save the over-extended opening and closing love-making scenes, which taxed even this writer's love for a piece by Jan Garbarek, used several times in the movie as musical accompaniment to some stunning images; and an unexpected attack on the team's helicopter is quite frightening in its immediacy. Impressive.