Moral Dilemmas

Last night I went to see Tubianski, an historical drama by Riki Shelach. Shelach works mostly as a film producer.  He directed the feature film, The Last Winter, 1982, which I very much liked. 

This is a fascinating drama about a slice of history from the period of the War of Independence in 1948.  Notwithstanding the fact that very little context is provided and the characters are not fully developed, the film offers a window into a certain period, the pressures on a society under siege, and the new Israel Defense Forces in-the-making.  In addition, the film reflects some of the dilemmas and moral issues that faced the nation at that time.

The story revolves around an officer in the IDF, Meir Tubianski, who is seen as a bit of an outsider.  Having served in the British army, he wants to do everything by the book, which is not so easy in the newly developing military framework.  In addition to being in charge of the Jerusalem airport, his civilian responsibilities include working at the Electric Company.  A jealous fellow worker goes to the Jerusalem intelligence branch of the army to accuse him of espionage and the story unfolds as Captain Tubianski is accused of betraying his country in a hastily convened military kangaroo court. 

Based on a true story from 1948, Captain Tubianski's wife wrote to Prime Minister David Ben Gurion himself, who, a year later,  had him fully exonerated and buried in a military burial on Mt. Herzl.  

You might want to check out my husband's post on TheTimes of Israel to get a more fully developed look at the context. 

Tubianski is a feature film,  75 minutes, produced by United King and Reshet TV.