A female point of view on the drama of an endless war, on the moral challenges they face in the face of the Palestinian population. Issues that were not addressed during the service are being raised today with great pain – and courage. A female point of view on the drama of an endless war, on the moral challenges that soldiers face in the face of the Palestinian population. The young women take a critical look at the way they managed the power entrusted to them at the age of eighteen. Did they really smile in the photos?
In 1988, the filmmaker served in the Israeli Defense Forces in the occupied territories. “How could I think I would forget…” asks one of the young women at the end of the film.
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Their names are Meytal, Rotem, Inbar, Dana, Tal, Libi, they have one thing in common: having served in the Israeli Defense Forces. In Israel, national military service is compulsory for all Israeli citizens over the age of 18, both men and women.
Through the different stories of these women, the documentary raises the question of the place of women in the army, a historically masculine world, but also and more broadly the question of the group and what humans are capable of doing to assert your place. .
These young women, at the age of 18, will discover a world completely different from their daily lives in the ultra-secure state that is Israel. First of all, entering this military space will instinctively lead them to erase their femininity and copy the behaviors of men. Furthermore, joining the army will also lead them to participate in a group dynamic, based on their belonging to Israel. Some of them will commit atrocious acts during this endless conflict with Palestine, which they certainly never thought they would undertake.
Indeed, for some of them, the pride in serving their country and doing "good" will soon give way to a feeling of disillusionment and fear in the face of the reality of the horrors of war.
With impressive frankness, they speak of what they saw and what they did; the way they tried to make sense of this “other world” and how they tried to reconcile their experiences with the self that was familiar to them, stripped of their military uniform. However, the documentary does not seek to excuse or justify acts committed in the West Bank during this period since the first Palestinian uprising.
/"To See If I'm Smiling/" powerfully explores how gender, ethics, power, and moral responsibility interact in war. Her rare mosaic of women's testimonies leaves us thinking about some of the most burning questions of our time. It is not only a story about women in the Israeli army and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, but also a universal story about war, its atrocities and its effects on people.
Original title: To see if I smile
A film by Tamar Yarom
A Tamar Yarom production
2007, licensed by First Hand Films
#documentary #israel #army #women #palestine
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