The fact that Yoel Kanovich didn’t report for the army reserve training he was summoned to is by no means his only problem. His marriage to Sigal is on the rocks, his father recently died of a heart attack, and on top of that he’s lost his job as a history teacher. His nerves apparently got the better of him during a lesson on the Balfour Declaration, of all things.

Low Tide

The Sylvester Stallone vehicle Rambo III (1988), is both a superficial commentary on the failure of war to resolve differences and a surreal interpretation of American exceptionalism through the actions of the individual. Although set in Afghanistan, with the hero besting a Russian army, the film was shot in the Israeli desert, with the involvement of the country’s military. Filmmaker Daniel Mann employs a variety of approaches to unpack what was to most audiences a brainless shoot ‘em-up, but to Mann is a work of many meanings.

Under a Blue Sun

Negev Desert, Israel, 1987. Bashir Abu Rabi'a works as a pyrotechnics and special effects assistant on the film Rambo III, starring Sylvester Stallone, a shoot that will have far-reaching consequences for the local Bedouin population.