The Vanishing Soldier *** (2023, Ido Tako, Mika Reiss, Efrat Ben Zur, Tiki Dayan, Shmulik Cohen) – Classic Movie Review 13,419

The urgent 2023 Israeli war drama thriller film The Vanishing Soldier stars Ido Tako as a deserter soldier, who flees the Gaza Strip battlefield and gets back to his girlfriend in Tel Aviv only to find the military thinks he was kidnapped by the enemy. 

Director Dani Rosenberg ‘s urgent 2023 Israeli war drama thriller film The Vanishing Soldier stars Ido Tako as Shlomi, an 18-year-old deserter soldier, who flees the Gaza Strip battlefield and makes his way back to his girlfriend Shiri in Tel Aviv only to discover that the military is convinced he was kidnapped by the enemy.

Shlomi hides from the soldiers he believes are chasing after him, but gets into various scrapes and near-misses. In spite of his mother (Efrat Ben Zur)’s demand that he returns to his unit before it’s too late, Shlomi takes a desperate chance on love with Shiri (Mika Reiss).

The Vanishing Soldier is an unusual, haunting and poignant Israeli movie, well shot and well acted, especially by Ido Tako in a magnetic tour-de-force, as well as Efrat Ben Zur as the distraught and not entirely sympathetic mother. It clearly and succinctly captures and encapsulates the crazy nature of a world at war. It’s an art movie, with stuff on its mind, but it has an exciting thriller zing across it, even occasionally exhilarating. Basically it’s just a boy on a bike, but Dani Rosenberg builds it into so much more than that. It’s a vital report from a war zone.

Dani Rosenberg writes the script with Amir Kliger. It also features Mika Reiss, Efrat Ben Zur, Tiki Dayan and Shmulik Cohen.

It premiered on 5 August 2023 at the 76th Locarno Film Festival, in Locarno, Switzerland.

Israeli actor Ido Tako.

Israeli actor Ido Tako was born on 4 November 2001.

The cast

The cast are Ido Tako as Shlomi, Mika Reiss as Shiri, Efrat Ben Zur as Shlomi’s Mother, Tiki Dayan as Shlomi’s Grandmother, Shmulik Cohen as Shlomi’s Father, and Mushy Vider as Deputy Officer.

© Derek Winnert 2025 – Classic Movie Review 13,419

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