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In 'Foxtrot,' A Filmmaker Captures The 'Bleeding Soul Of Israeli Society'

Samuel Maoz says his latest film was inspired by his experiences as a soldier in the Israeli army. He says Foxtrot deals with the "traumatic circle" his country is trapped in.
The Israeli film <em>Foxtrot</em> is a searing critique of a society stuck in perpetual war. (Left to right: Gefen Barkai, Shaul Amir, Dekel Adin and Yonatan Shiray.)

Foxtrot is Israel's most celebrated film of the year — and its most controversial.

It tells the story of one family grappling with the loss of their son at war. But it's also a searing critique of a society stuck in perpetual war.

It opens with uniformed soldiers arriving at an upscale Tel Aviv apartment. Actor Lior Ashkenazi describes what happens next: "You see a finger on the doorbell, and you see the face of the wife, and she faints." Ashkenazi plays the film's central character, Michael, a soon-to-be grieving father. He says, "This is

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