Movie review: Yossi & Jagger

Let's not kid ourselves here. I went to Blockbuster yesterday to comb the foreign films section for gay-themed movies—because in our local store, at least, those shelves are stocked by someone who clearly loves his/her queer cinema—aiming, after a week's worth of House slash, for nothing more than some kissage, fondling, bare skin, etc. It would have been a great night for Priest. (Really need to buy that one of these days.) Ended up choosing Yossi & Jagger, a film about two young soldiers carrying on a love affair in the Israeli army.

( Mostly plot summary. Warning: Contains pictures of boys necking. )

ETA: A timely link on kabale's LJ to a paper on Israel's exploitation of its LGBT community to foster prejudice against Palestinians. The part of the article that addresses the issue of gays in the military seems appropriate to excerpt here:

One [study] states, for example, that "there is no evidence that the long-standing inclusion of homosexuals in the IDF has harmed operational effectiveness, combat readiness, unit cohesion or morale in the Israeli military [16]" while another found "no common adjustment problems relating to these [gay] men’s sexual orientation [17]". But, as one paper notes, while the law has been changed to allow gays and lesbians to serve in the Army, the vast majority still choose to hide their sexual orientation from their fellow combatants, and instead adapt to the masculine and heterosexual norms of the Army [18]. (Blair Kuntz, Znet, 8/13/06)

So Yossi and Jagger might have more significance in the face of current events than I gave it credit for.