Film Review: Close to Home

Close To Home is about a group of young 18 year old girls in the Israeli army. I have family living in Israel and was interested in the topic. At times the movie moves very slowly. At other times I was sitting on the edge of my seat waiting for a catastrophe to happen.. I realized that these young women face this diversity every day. They are under the power of their superior officer. In this film the superior officer is autocratic and forceful. There is to be no sitting, eating, or cell phones while on duty. We see the interpersonal relationships amongst the girls. There is the young girl that recoils at the thought of examining Arab women and giving them a hard time. They are required to have a quota of Id’s examined. With each person they question you wonder if something awful will happen. These girls are posted at checkpoints and on busses within Jerusalem. When one girl complains she cannot do this anymore she is ordered to keep her personal thoughts to herself. The girls are partnered to do their task. Some of the girls do not like their partners. This part is all too believable.
At one point a bomb does go off. You see the pandemonium and feel for these young girls working in such a dangerous job. There is suspense. There is human drama. Yet, the story moves very slowly. Thank goodness not too much happens.