VALLEY OF TEARS
Watch it here.
Easy, easy, easy.
- Pine-Nut! - Make sure he's okay.
Easy. Lean on me.
Why did you kill him?
What is this, a debriefing?
You should've shot him in the kneecap.
Yeah? In the kneecap? Why not the elbow?
Because a wounded soldier is more damage than a dead soldier.
A wounded soldier needs medical care and causes demoralization.
Nice. Is that what they teach you in intel class?
They teach us everything.
Infantry tactics, armored strategies, submarine combat.
- Everything. - Nice. I learned something.
Next time I'll shoot him in the kneecap.
He didn't have a weapon, he was just drinking.
Are you kidding me?
You think I enjoyed shooting him?
You think I enjoy this?
You think war makes me horny,
that seeing my soldiers die makes me want to avenge them and screw Arabs?
I see a Syrian soldier next to you, he's dead on the spot.
They don't teach you that, huh?
Let's go.
When Yoni was little his favorite book was "The Seagull and the Fish".
You know it?
A book for Ashkenazis?
Funny.
You can guess it's about a seagull and a fish. An odd couple.
They're in love, but he's in the water, she's in the sky.
Somehow they find a way.
I used to read it to him every night,
it would calm him down enough to fall asleep.
When his mom and I split, they moved to Paris.
One night they took the suitcases and bailed.
It didn't even occur to me to go after him.
You get me?
I gave him up.
The years go by and this kid calls me every week.
Most of the time I didn't bother picking up.
He wanted to see how I am, tell me about himself.
A few months ago he knocked on my door.
I hadn't seen him in 15 years.
Suddenly here's this kid I don't even know insisting on coming back to me.
Instead of being happy that I have a chance to make amends,
all I could feel was anger.
I don't even know if I'm mad at him for barging into my life
or at myself, for not being able to feel close to him.
There are 200 000 dads whose kids are fighting this war, Meni.
I don't see them searching for their kid, trying to get him out.
I was so happy they left.
I think I said to myself,
the kid is healthy, sensible, not like his dad,
screwed up by four wars,
more and more hammers to the head,
realizing too late that this is no way to live.
I said to myself, he won't be blackened by this darkness.
He'll remain a person who never killed anyone
and wasn't killed at 18.
- Guys, give him some air. - Move away.
- Maybe he needs some water. - What's going on at home?
We've been off the grid for two days.
- Not that good. - Tell us.
In the Sinai, the outposts at the Canal collapsed.
The Egyptians are on their way to seizing the Sinai.
The Golan Heights have been evacuated.
- The kibbutzes too? - Yes, kibbutzes, bases.
- All of them? - Hundreds wounded and dead.
I'm sure the General Staff has thought up a maneuver.
No maneuvers. It's just you guys,
the soldiers that are scattered in all these hellholes.
No more magic tricks.
Combat day, my ass!
Why isn't the air force doing anything?
Why aren't you doing anything?
Half my squadron is gone.
We weren't prepared for the Syrians' missiles.
- What's wrong with him? - How far did the Syrians get?
- They're approaching Lake Kinneret. - The Syrians are there.
- My kibbutz is right next to it! - Caspi, that's enough.
Alush, I spotted Syrian tanks. Looks like a brigade.
Get back to observation.
If anyone approaches this hill, let us know right away. Get back there.
Pilot, pilot, look at me!
- Everyone... - What's wrong with him?
Everyone's counting on the reserves.
We have to hang in there a few more hours.
Do you know anything about our brigade?
- Pilot! - What's wrong with him, Eran?
- Pilot? - This is important, man.
What's with the commander, the deputy commander?
Leave him alone, Marco.
- But he should tell us... - We need to know.
It's just rumors.
What? It's important.
You're on your own.
On our own? That can't be.
- Are you in pain? - He's spitting up blood.
- He's choking, undo his overalls. - Let me.
- Calm down, man. - What is this? You didn't see this?
No. He has internal injuries. If he's not evacuated now, he's dead.
But he was fine, he ran all the way here.
- He ran on adrenaline! - We have to save him.
Does he have a pulse?
What, that's it?
- No! No! - We have to evacuate him.
Nothing helped! Nothing helped. Damn it.
Giora Zamir.
Alush, he has to be evacuated. Come help me.
Let's stop here a few minutes, we'll freshen up.
Tell me, how do you have all that information in your head?
What?
You eat an encyclopedia?
It's just the way I am.
Since 1st grade, kindergarten. I don't know.
Since kindergarten?
You used to recite the enemy's tanks with the teacher?
No.
I'd memorize the license plate numbers of the cars in my neighborhood.
I knew them by heart.
Seriously?
Yes, I have methods to remember.
Let's say the postman's car was 72946.
The school principal, 52998. Your Uzi...
- What about it? - Look for yourself. 4682688.
You're a genius, huh?
Thanks, but no, I just developed methods.
I took the long way to school so I had enough time
to think up ways to remember.
Why didn't you want to get to school?
It's complicated.
What's complicated?
The kids at school bullied me, sometimes they hit me.
I see. So you didn't have friends.
I managed. Books were my best friends.
More than friends, I'd travel the world with them.
I learned Arabic when I was 11 and I started to travel.
- With the atlas. - Nice.
I'd talk to sheikhs in Saudi Arabia,
oil merchants in Dubai.
It was more interesting
than those jerks who played ball and got into fights.
You're right. Jerks.
So, when I enlisted, I felt that I belong,
because I could use my skills.
You're where you should be.
We have to move on.
We have a hedgehog to get home.
What's his name?
Hold on. Giora Zamir.
Tokyo, this is 87.
The guy from the bird, G. Zeev. We got him.
Thank you!
87, thank God.
Let me talk to the pilot. Over.
87, let me talk to the pilot. Over.
87, do you read me? How is the pilot? Over.
Heavenly Israel is waiting for an answer, Marco.
87, what's going on?
He's fine. Out.
Let me talk to him, get him on the radio. Over.
He's being treated, he can't talk right now.
Get over here and get us out.
87, a rescue crew is on the way.
Take cover in the meantime, keep him safe.
And you too. Do you copy?
Copy that. Out.
Great, guys, great!
Inform the air force.
We're getting troops out there, either the air force or us. OK?
1? This is Panther 1. How did the fast go, darlings?
Get all pretty for me before I come to save your asses.
1, do you copy? Get those holiday clothes on. Over.
Melakhi, you lazy bum, didn't they kill you in jail?
No way, buddy.
I barely got pleasure. Marco, my brother.
What are you doing on my radio?
- I wasn't on your radio. - Leave the war room.
- But I didn't do anything! - Get out, thank you.
Melakhi.
Melakhi?
- How did he get to Nafah? - How do I know?
Way to go, Marco.
There are APCs in Safed. At least six on standby.
But we don't have drivers.
Ten reserve drivers are on the way. They'll be here in an hour.
Great. Get Safed on the radio,
tell them the reserve drivers will be there in one hour.
They're on their way to Safed to get the APCs. Good work.
Wait, wait, wait.
- Just a little more. We're close. - No, I can't.
I'm tired.
Drink some water.
Isn't he thirsty? Give him some.
Hold this a sec.
Come here, Pine-Nut.
Give me some water.
- Come. Good boy. - You're all right, Avinoam.
Where did that hedgehog come from?
I got him as a gift.
He's cute. Who gave him to you?
Michal.
So you're in love?
It's complicated
Try me.
Those kids that bullied me, until the 11th grade...
She talked to them and told them to stop.
I don't know what she said, but it worked.
Since then we've been good friends.
And I fell in love.
But I didn't tell her.
Too bad.
If you don't dive in, you'll never know.
Is that what you did? Dive in?
I saw you have a ring.
- Sorry, I didn't mean to... - It's fine.
Let's go. We have to move on. Come on.
The ring is my grandmother's.
I was stuck in my mother's belly for two days in the hospital.
No one could get me out. So the doctors decided to operate.
Just then my grandmother walked into the room and cried out,
"Let me, let me, let me, I'll try."
The doctors gave her this look...
A little old Tunisian woman, screaming.
In any case, she took the ring,
the one you saw, and placed it on my mother's belly.
She started reciting Psalms, sentences in Tunisian.
She walked around my mother's bed a few times.
In less than five minutes I was out.
No operation, no nothing.
For years I used to say to her, Memeh,
God willing, when I'm 120, that ring will be mine.
I made her swear that I'd put that ring on my future wife's finger.
Yoav, when you missed the ride,
were you on your way to see her? To propose?
You could say that.
- Sorry. - Why?
Why are you sorry?
None of the bosses up there knew there'd be a war.
All the generals, the smart asses, none of them saw what you saw.
And you're saying you're sorry...
It's beautiful here, isn't it?
It is.
- Avinoam, don't move. - What's wrong?
LANDMINES
- We're in a mine field. - What?
Melakhi, you're moving out in one minute.
No problem, sweetie.
Stay safe out there.
I'm staying here, maybe we'll get word of Yonatan.
Trust me, you'll find your son alive, Meni.
When Melakhi has a feeling, it always happens.
Will I see you again, Seagull?
If you come back alive, I'll testify at your trial.
I said I was coming back. And when I do, Meni,
nothing will ever be the same.
After the war, we're shutting down this country and reopening it.
Social justice, equality, it's done.
Amen.
Here's a tip from an old socialist to a young socialist,
you're too trusting of people. Be careful.
Why do you say that?
- Melakhi, they're waiting for you. - I'm coming, sweetie.
You said that during the protest you were in an alley and no one saw you.
That night you were arrested with a petrol bomb.
Golda and the government fear the Black Panthers.
They have agents and rats everywhere.
Someone informed on you.
No way, Meni.
Hey, you're leaving now. Let's go.
If you delay us here, the guys are leaving without you.
Believe me, kid,
that heart you try so hard to hide is an advantage and a drawback.
Get me the pilot, no nonsense.
I'm clearing the route, you keep to it.
You step where I step.
- You hear me, Avinoam? - No, I can't.
Yoav, I'm staying here.
- Don't sit down! - What?
Don't sit down! You hear me?
Applying pressure of 9 kilos will activate an anti-personnel mine.
80 grams of explosives causes severe injury.
The grenade is made of plastics that can't be detected.
- Don't sit down! - Watch the hedgehog!
Look at me. Don't panic, stay calm.
You want to get home, right? You want to get home to your mom?
My mom will have a nervous breakdown if anything happens to me.
- I'm her only son. - Think about something else.
Animals. You like animals, right?
Like your hedgehog. Did I tell you I have a horse?
I have a beautiful, black horse. His name is Black Jack.
Did you ever ride a horse?
We'll get out of here, the war will end and you'll come ride Black Jack.
Okay ? You step where I step.
We're all right. Just a few meters. Look.
We have to get to the path. Look at the path.
You step where I step.
Avinoam, stay with me.
It's all right. See? I stepped here.
Put your foot here. Put your foot here, Avinoam.
One step forward. Give me your hand.
One step, together. Right foot, right foot.
Avinoam, put your foot here. There's nothing here.
One step here. Wait for me to move my foot.
Wait until I move my foot.
Good, now left foot here.
Left foot here. Good. I move my left foot, you do the same.
That's it. Stay balanced. I got you.
Move your foot. That's it.
You're all right. Set it down. That's it, that's it.
You see? Here we go. Here's the first one.
- Here's the first one. - No. Yoav, I'm going back.
You're not going anywhere! Don't move!
Take a step and it could explode! Avinoam, don't move!
Don't move.
Avinoam, the horse I told you about, it's not mine,
it's Dafna's. It's not mine. It's Dafna's.
Dafna, your girlfriend.
And you're going to get married with the ring.
What did you say earlier? It's complicated.
There. We met in the brigade.
But she had a boyfriend, so I didn't...
I wanted her for a long time, but from a distance.
- So you didn't dive in. - No.
I was sure she wouldn't give me a second look.
Why do you say that?
What kibbutz gal would bring me home to her folks?
My parents... I killed my dad.
He was sure I'd bring home a girl from the hood, you know?
One of ours. We'd live in his backyard,
we'd give him grandkids.
I brought him a girl from a kibbutz,
Ashkenazi and a total atheist. A heretic.
But I bet she's pretty.
Pretty isn't the word.
She's beautiful.
Long, black hair.
A small, button nose.
But her laugh...
When she laughs, I'm on cloud nine.
Take another step.
I'm coming to you.
That's it. I'm coming to you. Give me your hand.
Give me your hand, step here.
Give me your right foot. It's all right.
Give me your right foot. Trust me, Avinoam.
- Wait. - Here, here!
You step where I step.
Keep your balance. Put your foot down. That's it.
We're moving ahead, that's it. Not too much more.
So how did it turn out?
Her family has a horse ranch.
One day I heard her talking to her friend
about the horse ranch, she said she's an instructor.
So I said to myself, that's it, Yoav, you're diving in.
I told her I'm crazy about horses, it's my childhood dream.
I asked her if she could teach me.
And she said yes.
Yes. She said yes.
That's it. A little bit more.
- Here we go. - What?
No, please, not another one. Is that another one?
I come for my first lesson with Dafna, all macho like.
All macho like, psyched.
I'm about to get on the horse and bam!
I fall off the other side, head first into horseshit.
She looks at me, I'm covered in it.
Then she bursts out laughing.
I look at her and that's when I knew.
I said to myself, this woman will be my wife.
Since then, the ring has been stuck in my pocket for two months.
Why? Why don't you give it to her?
I don't know what to do.
She's the best thing that ever happened to me,
but I don't see how our worlds can come together.
A little bit more and we're out. Avinoam, we're almost out.
Are you with me? This is it.
Come to me. Give Pine-Nut to me.
- Careful. - Give him to me.
That's it. One foot here.
One foot here. Give me your hand.
Here, one foot here. Here, there's nothing here.
Here. Come to me. Come to me.
Just the right foot. Good, good, good.
Good, good.
I move, you bring up your left foot.
Careful. Jump to me.
Jump to me, one, two.
That's it. I told you, we're all right.
We're all right. Don't worry.
We're all right.
Come on now, sit down, let's rest a minute.
Sit down and rest. Sit.
Yoav.
Dafna must be a great girl if she got someone like you.
You have to dive in.
You're right. We both do.
Yes.
As soon as this war is over, both of us.
No second thoughts. Head first into the water.
Here. Catch.
Pine-Nut, come. Are you hungry?
Yoav!
Yoav! Yoav!
No, no, no! Yoav! Yoav!
Yoav, please, stay with me.
Help! Help!
Alush, army unit approaching. I think it's the rescue team.
Good job, Netanel.
Marco!
- Melakhi! - Marco!
- Damn! - Marco! My heart!
What's up, brother?
How's it going?
Why did you come here, man?
- You know what's going on here? - Melakhi.
So many bodies. What for?
Melakhi ain't gonna leave you hanging.
You should've stayed there, you're insane.
- Where's the pilot? - That's all you guys care about?
Have you no shame? You know what we've been through?
- Marco, we're here, that's what counts. - A pilot.
Where are your helmets? Put your helmets on.
- Where is he? - I missed you, Marco.
- I missed you so much. - Me too, brother, me too.
Didn't you miss me, Melakhi?
Of course I did, why not?
Where is he?
Next to the bodies. He didn't make it.
What? Why didn't you update us?
It just happened.
Everyone crouch down, we're up high here. Down.
What?
Internal injuries. We couldn't save him.
The body is cold, he's been dead a long time.
Way to go. You brought us here for a dead body.
You see that, Melakhi?
He's more important than us even though he's dead.
Where's Aviram?
But I saw Caspi's tank. I thought that Caspi...
How are we all gonna get down in that measly jeep?
I'm only taking back the wounded.
And tank crews. We need tank crews urgent.
Get as many as you can on the jeep.
You can't leave the paratroopers alone.
Infantry stays.
Marco. We can't leave the paratroopers alone.
So we stay here? What's with you?
- Are you leaving us here to die? - No, I'm leaving you here to fight.
We brought ammo, don't worry.
And sardines, canned meat, jam, cookies so dry you'll choke.
All the goodness the IDF can offer, huh, Marco?
I'll take the body, okay?
No, no, we're not taking back bodies. There's no room.
Only the severely wounded and tank crew.
- Let's go now. - Let's do this.
Aviram, don't worry, I'll come get you.
Follow me, tank crews.
Cookies to choke on...
Paratroopers, let's unload the jeep. Let's go, paratroopers.
- Let's go. - Let's unload the gear.
- Fixman, Sulami, Pitzi. - There's ammo.
There's battle rations.
- Give me the radio. - What did you bring?
Operations deputy to Tokyo.
- Copy, over. - The bird is belly up. Over.
Come back now. Over.
Let's go.
- Tank crew, get on. - Let's go.
Sulami, Pitzi, get on. Fixman. Where's Gutterman? Get on.
- Caspi. Get on. - Three, four.
Paratrooper, you're staying here.
He's not from here. He's a recruit, he's with us.
Infantry stays.
- Why can't you send two more jeeps? - Get on.
Two clunkers for all I care. What's the problem?
Tokyo to 87, do you read me? Over.
Go ahead, Tokyo.
Get down off the hill before the route is blocked.
I repeat, don't delay. Over.
- This is Deputy Screwdriver. - Let's go, Caspi, Alush.
We have to go now. Get on.
How many Syrians are down below?
- Around 3 000. - And 200 tanks, no?
Not one IDF tank in the sector.
Not one cannon, not one APC.
If the Syrians get to this hill, it'll be a blood bath, you know that.
They're coming with us.
But there's no room.
And we need spotters here, to direct the reserves when they arrive.
What will they stay with? Uzi bullets and grapefruit?
Don't give me any grief.
Guys, all my soldiers, Yoni, let's fight like lions.
Maybe we'll hold up the Syrians for another few hours.
Heads up. Let's do this.
- Let's get back to the lovely tank. - Caspi, Alush. Let's go.
I'm staying, you can go.
You're staying?
- I'm staying. - Alush, go with them, we'll be fine.
You don't run this show, pal.
I'm staying too. We'll fight with the infantry.
- This one can't wait to die... - It's okay, you get on.
Go with them, Alush. You're needed elsewhere.
- I only have four here. - Get on the jeep, Melakhi.
We need more tank crewmen. Let's go.
You heard the officer. They need us, let's defeat them in the tank.
I'm not saving myself and leaving them to die.
Alush, we're needed elsewhere, we're not going on vacation.
Since you were 15 you've been saying that this country doesn't give a shit.
How many petrol bombs did you toss in the name of solidarity, Marco?
Look around you, this is solidarity.
All of us, together, equal.
And if it's so important to hold up this hill, then I'm staying.
Every person matters.
Who's it gonna help if we die too?
I'd rather die with a clear conscience
than live knowing I abandoned my friends.
Alush, Marco is right. What clear conscience exactly?
Do you know what's going on back home? The country's been cancelled.
I was sent here to bring back the platoon and that's what I'm doing.
Get on the jeep and bring Caspi with you!
I have to move out now.
You're making a mistake.
- Alush, we're staying with you. - Where are you going?
The paratroopers need us.
I'm staying here. You'll need a doctor.
You bunch of gangsters. So I came here for no reason?
No, we still have the smell of your shampoo.
Well? Are we staying here?
Take care of yourself, brother.
You're making a mistake, Alush.
Let's go, Alush.
Come on.
Everyone take up positions. The Syrians are down below.
Get over here, Sulami. Get into position.
- You got ammo? - You too, Yoni.
Netanel, I want you observing the entire sector.
Crouch down, we're up high here.
Listen, you cover this entire area, from here to there.
You won't manage a minute without me. Shit.
You guys are messed up.
Whatever will be will be.