MOVIE REVIEW

An emotionally restrained drama about growing up in the Israeli military.

By Lael Loewenstein, Special to The Times

An emotionally restrained coming-of-age drama set in Israel, "Close to Home" follows two young women performing their compulsory military service. Although its location and plot points are worlds away from typical Hollywood teen-angst fare, some of its themes are undeniably universal.

Like their peers, 18-year-olds Smadar (Smadar Sayar) and Mirit (Naama Schendar) patrol the streets of Jerusalem, charged with the task of registering random Palestinians. The presumption, as indicated by their no-nonsense commanding officer (Irit Suki), is that the more Arabs they apprehend and register, the more terrorist activity they can prevent.

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Smadar and Mirit are nearly polar opposites: Smadar disdains the work, flouts the rules and has sexual relations with at least one guy. Mirit, by contrast, is a diligent and obedient soldier with little romantic experience. As disparate as they are, the girls must learn to overcome their differences because circumstances force them to become friends.

When a bomb detonates in a busy public zone, Smadar realizes her insolence has thrust Mirit into harm's way. Receptive to Smadar's overture, Mirit makes her first real friend. But just when they seem to have found their footing, the girls see their friendship tested after one of them makes a seemingly minor, yet costly, decision.

The bad girl/good girl pairing is a familiar buddy-movie paradigm, of course, but it's tough to think of a context for that relationship as intriguing as the one here. We've all seen high school seniors emanate Smadar's cool detachment or Mirit's social awkwardness, but few of us have had a look inside Israel's female military ranks, in which girls are compelled to assume a mature and self-assured stance at a young age. Because Vidi Bilu and Dalia Hager, the film's writer-directors, based much of the film on their own military service, "Close to Home" feels authentic.

Much of that verisimilitude comes from directorial choices, like the hand-held camera that follows Smadar and Mirit through Jerusalem. There's a sense of immediacy, an air of the unexpected, that invites an investment in their story. When, for example, Smadar and Mirit confront an Arab who's been asked one too many times for his papers, you're not entirely sure of their safety. Schendar and Sayar are thoroughly convincing in their roles.

That said, "Close to Home" is such a small-scale drama that it's hard not to wish it were a little more ambitious. Bilu and Hager allude to the tension between the girls' conflicting impulses (sensitivity versus toughness); it would have been interesting to explore that theme further. As it is, "Close to Home" is a slender slice — a sliver is more like it — of a very rich cake.

"Close to Home." MPAA rating: Unrated. Running time: 1 hour, 39 minutes. In Hebrew with English subtitles. Exclusively at Laemmle's Music Hall, 9036 Wilshire Blvd., Beverly Hills (310) 274-6869; Town Center 5, 17200 Ventura Blvd., Encino (818) 981-9811; Fallbrook 7, 6731 Fallbrook Ave., West Hills (818) 340-8710.