Many are comparing the intelligence failures at the beginning of the nightmare that the country is going through today to those of the Yom Kippur War. That may make the five-episode series The Stronghold, from KAN, even timelier, although likely also more upsetting.
The Stronghold is an expanded version of the gripping, beautifully filmed and acted movie, which just opened this summer. Both the series and the movie dramatize the true story of an IDF outpost that suffered heavy losses in the Yom Kippur War. The series premiered on KAN 11 on October 9 at 9:15 p.m. and the episodes are now available on the KAN website (kan.org.il), which is free and requires no password.
It is an unusual decision to have both a movie and a television series about the same story, but these are unusual times, and the director, Lior Chefetz, and the producers felt that there would be an audience for both, especially given that the series is premiering just as Israel marks the 50th anniversary of the Yom Kippur War.
The Stronghold is based on the memories of soldiers who were there and uses their real names.
It focuses on the human cost of the war, although the politics of how it was handled are never far away.
Like Golda, it opens with the interrogation, conducted by the Agranat Commission, of one of the main characters about his conduct during that conflict.
The story then flashes back to October 5, 1973, the day before the war broke out, when the hippieish Dr. Nahum Werbin (Michael Aloni) arrives at a remote Sinai outpost to the sound of blaring rock music, wearing white sneakers and puka shell necklaces and expecting nothing more taxing than giving out aspirin and blister cream.
The outpost is commanded by Shlomo Erdinast (Daniel Gad), a soldier from a hesder yeshiva, who is expecting that Yom Kippur deep in the Sinai will be as quiet as every other day, marked only by prayers and fasting. But when the Egyptian Army launches an all-out attack by air, land, and sea on October 6, Shlomo is forced to try to defend the 42 soldiers under his command with the scant resources he has at hand. Nahum, who at 29 is the oldest and most experienced soldier in the outpost, and who served in an elite unit before going to medical school, tries frantically to save critically wounded soldiers with very limited medical supplies.
Outmanned and outgunned, the unit tries its best, but the casualties and deaths mount.
Soldiers begging for help as their commanders leave them feeling abandoned
Still able to communicate with their commanders behind the lines, the soldiers beg for reinforcements and supplies and, eventually, to be evacuated, but rescue attempts fail, and they are simply told, again and again, to hang on. As conditions become more desperate, a debate arises between Nahum, the more mature doctor concerned with preserving the lives of the wounded and wracked with guilt over those he couldn’t save, and Shlomo, young and religious, who wants to prove his bravery, over whether surrender is a valid option. Nahum argues passionately that it is, while Shlomo is ready to fight to the death. It’s a debate that is a microcosm of so much Israeli policy to this day, and it plays almost like a snapshot of Israel’s soul. Later on, in separate investigations after the war, both Nahum and Shlomo have to defend their decisions and their actions.
In the first two episodes of the series, which were released to the press, it is very similar to the movie, but because there is more time, the relationships among the characters are developed more deeply, and some of the supporting characters get more screen time, notably Schultheiss (Daniel Moreshet), the artistically inclined communications officer.
We briefly see the military command headquarters in Tel Aviv in the series, and there will be more of the top brass in upcoming episodes. One nice touch is that, at the end of each episode, we see the real photos and full names of those who died in the battles that are depicted.
Television viewers who became fans of Michael Aloni from the series Shtisel and The Beauty Queen of Jerusalem will enjoy his performance here, where he gets to play a more laid-back character than the characters he plays in either of those series, but one who acts heroically once the war breaks out. Daniel Gad is a rising star who has recently appeared in the series Line in the Sand and Shababnikim.
THE SERIES is not quite as harrowing as the movie was, mainly because it’s less intense on the small screen, but viewers should be prepared for the fact that it is very realistic and shows the graphic violence in detail.
Although there is a lot of history here, under no circumstances is it for children.
For those who have seen the movie, the series is still worthwhile because you learn more about the characters, and the action sequences have been expanded. If you didn’t see the movie, then you should definitely watch the series.
While, of course, it will be fascinating for Israeli audiences, I think that it is so well made that it will speak to audiences abroad simply as a drama, when it is sold, as I imagine it will be, to an international streaming service.
Besides the graphic violence that is an integral part of The Stronghold, this series could prove difficult for some viewers right now because of the emotions it might arouse. Nearly as frightening – perhaps much more frightening – than the fact that Egyptian troops are shelling and shooting at the outpost is the feeling the soldiers get that the top brass has abandoned them. They are told time and again to just hang tough, while the wounded are dying for lack of supplies.
Many of those who were trapped in communities along the Gaza border as the attacks began expressed similar sentiments, saying that they cannot understand why it took hours for rescuers from the army and police to arrive.
Many of us have come to accept that there will be wars with the enemies on our borders, but when those we trust to protect us fail, we can be deeply hurt.
The power of The Stronghold is such that this feeling of abandonment the characters in it experience may be exceptionally difficult to view today, or it may provide a kind of healing to see how the soldiers pull together and handle the situation on their own. It’s simply an aspect of the series that viewers should be prepared for.
NOTICE
All performances and screenings have been put on hold amid the war.
The movies reviewed will be available for viewing once the theaters reopen.