TheissueofWarwidowrepresentationinIsraelicinemaisoneofthemostcomplexforthelocalindustryforitseemstobeuniqueandwithaverylocalandspecificiconography. ThewarWidowisadifficultcharactertodigest.BecausethisisanespeciallypainfultopicinIsrael,itsmodeofrepresentationisalmostalwaysproblematic. GilaAlmagorinTofano'ssiegeisoneofthefirstcharactersofthemodernwarwidowstoappearonIsraelicinemascreens. Thehumanandsocialcomplexityofthestatusofwidowswasnotrepresentedadequatelyandpersonallyuntilhercomplexandfineappearanceinthisfilm. ItwasmostlyPrecededbyclichesofheroicwomenwhohavesacrificedforthenationwithcharacterstowhichitwasverydifficulttogetattached,nortotheirpersonalgrief. SiegewasdirectedbyanunknownItaliandirectorofthatperiod.AlthoughGilbertoTofanowasbroughtasaprofessionaldirectoronthewingsofinspirationmadebytheFrenchNewWaveofthoseyears,hemanagedtoturnoutaveryexcitingworkwhichhascaughttheIsraeliwarmthandsenseofsocialsiegewhichsurroundstheIsraeliwidows,includingthegreatexpectationsfromthemandthesocialstigmas. TofanowrappedhisleadingladywithlotsofwarmthandgaveaplaceofhonortoAlmagor'simpressivepresenceinthefilm. ThisiswithoutadoubtoneofAlmagor'sbestandmostaccurateperformances.TherestraintinherperformanceplustheshootingandexpressiveuseofanglesbyTofanoandhissoftEuropeantouchwhichwasfarofffromtheaggressivelocalproductmanagedtoproduceasenseofdocumentinganauthentictragedywithatangiblepersonaltouchthatminimizedthenationaldimension.Theresultstandsthetestoftimeproudlyseveraldecadesafteritscreation.
