CRITICS’PICKS

“Beaufort” has had an effect everywhere it’s played. It pinch-hit for “The Band’s Visit” when that film was Oscar disqualified and became one of the five best foreign-language nominees. It was the first Israeli film to take a Silver Bear for directing at the Berlin Film Festival. And it was a major critical and box office success at home. What all the justified fuss is about is a war movie about a retreat, not a victory, a film whose realism is so intense it almost becomes surreal. It’s also one of the strongest examples yet of a fearless new wave that has made Israel’s cinema a force on the international scene.