Concrete

The Israeli Defence Force operation "Cast Lead" in Gaza wasn't covered by the media due to military embargo. For the first time, Israeli soldiers who took part in the conflict in 2009 speak out about their actions. This intimate doc forges an arresting narrative of an unknown war. In a city built as a model of Gaza, a confused young IDF soldier shows his mother the tanks and other weapons of war he'll soon be operating. "My mom came with sunglasses and a purse, like she was on an outing", says the soldier of the days before entering the real Gaza. They were brought "boxes of food and candy and treats" by their proud families, who celebrated their impending fight against Hamas terrorists as if it was Independence Day. Even a day before entering Gaza, the mood recounted by the men sounds infectious as reality and fiction blur. "At night there were these beautiful bombs, green and red. Like pyrotechnic displays", says a wide eyed young man. Looking back on the first day, a more sceptical member of the battalion expresses disbelief: "We went into the big mess and fired like crazy, no one knew what he was shooting at." Candid interviews reveal how these naive troops found themselves in a ghost town, populated by abandoned animals and ruined homes. Repeatedly comparing their experiences to high-budget Hollywood war films by the likes of Steven Spielberg, the one thing missing was a clear enemy: "The firing orders were a disgrace, nobody said anything about civilians. They said: When in doubt, shoot, just don't let them kill our men." Yet even with no obvious targets, many found themselves exhilarated by the paranoia and danger, leading to the indiscriminate shelling of civilian buildings: "It sounds really terrible to say 'cleanse' but those were the orders." asserts one man.