For three weeks, towards the end of their military service, young Israelis who do not have a certificate of high-school graduation are offered the chance to obtain it by taking part in army-sponsored courses which require them to contemplate issues such as human rights, pluralism, the definition of the Jewish State and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Director Silvina Landsmann goes for a fly-on-the-wall perspective to capture the mélange of ambivalence, stubbornness, argumentative spirit and resilience demonstrated by the students while they are repeatedly challenged by their teacher about their views, and encouraged to engage in some serious thinking before embarking on their future. As they are pushed to both sustain and question their convictions, we end up assisting to an animated course cum therapy session that often involves clashing, uncensored individual opinions.

A briskly-paced, revealing look at a group of young people with deeply ingrained views gained through tough life experiences, Soldier/Citizen is a good reminder that a balanced perspective takes effort and a willingness to put yourself  in the other’s shoes.