Kissufim

In order to completely understand this film, a viewer needs to understand Israel. For those who do not know Israel as a real place and Israelis as real people this film should be instructive.

It is a coming-of-age film about members of a Kibbutz (communal farm) in 1977. The characters are all young adults coming home from their military duty having experienced combat. Israelis are drafted after high school with few exceptions. It should not be forgotten that Israel has existed under threat of war for its entire history.

These young people are decompressing from their combat experience and just beginning to move on with their lives. Few Americans have experienced combat and fewer still are in communities where everyone has experienced it. This is not, in that sense, like the coming-of-age films we are familiar with in this country. The film also includes women characters who are finding their identities as women.

It should be noted that Kissufim is a real place. It is one of the communities massacred on October 7 last year.