Beaufort Castle is an ancient fortress in southern Lebanon that came under Israeli control at the start of the 1982 Lebanon War, and stayed that way until Israel abandoned it in 2000. The film "Beaufort," an Oscar nominee in the foreign-language category, depicts the last few days of the occupation, entirely from the point of view of the final group of Israeli Defense Forces soldiers to be stationed there.

Any film about Israel is bound to be fraught with political powder kegs, more so if the Israeli military is the subject. On IMDb I see message board threads with titles like "A very dangerous propaganda movie" and "Is this pro or anti Israel?," and I realize the film is (to quote Stephen Sondheim) fraughter than I thought.

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Grade: B+

Not rated, probably R for some harsh profanity, some moderate violence

2 hrs., 5 min.; Hebrew with subtitles