If you are headed to the LA Jewish Film Festival, check out the historical drama, “Monument,” which tells the suspenseful tale about the attempts to build a special memorial in the Middle East.
Based on a true story about the cross country violence during 1999, when Israeli troops were in southern Lebanon, the film is especially relevant, given the intense fighting that is currently happening there.
The opening scenes with Radiohead’s music in the background are particularly riveting, as viewers grasp the rapidly changing, real life events that took place during that time period.
Joseph Mazzello is a standout in the film, playing Amnon, a well respected, sensitive architect and new dad, who works with his father, Yakov (a frail but passionate Jon Voight). The two take a secret meeting where they are asked to design a monument for Israeli war soldiers who were killed. 
The Israeli Ministry of Defense will finance the monument, which would require Yacov and Rechter to make several trips into the “security zone,” a scary area that is prone to rocket attacks, known locally as “Death Road.”
An ailing Yakov (who has cancer) and Ammon are at first at odds with each other in deciding if they will construct the job. “The security zone should be the war zone, and our presence should be called what it is, an occupation, and the Lebanese army should be called our proxy militia. Lebanon is our Vietnam,” Amnon tells his father.
“Our government constantly undermines the very ideals they claim to promote…You’re putting yourself and company at risk.”
Yaakov retorts, “I disagree with every word you say. This is a war zone… We live our lives around people committed to our destruction… We make mistakes, of course we make mistakes, we’re human beings.”
While the project initially started out for fallen soldiers, Amnon has a creative vision–he wants to build a communal peace bridge to bring both countries and religions together.
The connection between Mazzello and Voight, an Oscar-winning actor who is known for iconic films as Midnight Cowboy, Deliverance, Coming Home, and the television series, Ray Donovan, plays well onscreen; Amnon so wants his dad to respect him for his ideas.
He tells his wife: “Something is gnawing at me, it’s for him, I want to create something beautiful before he (Yakov) goes, so that he knows the time he spent teaching me was worth it.”
If you’re interested in learning more about the architect, check out https://www.rechterarch.com.
A ticket discount is being offered to Hollywood Times readers:(https://www.eventbrite.com/e/special-screening-of-monument-and-honoring-actor-jon-voight-tickets-1988250937075?aff=oddtdtcreator): Use code MON02
