AllMovie

Filmmaker Yoav Shamir captures a snapshot of a society in a permanent state of duress with this documentary which traces the post-military habits of Israeli soldiers who attempt to shake off the trauma of duty by escaping into the mountains of northern India. Their service to the military fulfilled, many young Israeli soldiers retreat to the mountains, spend their end-of-service bonus on copious amounts of drugs, draw from enormous hookahs, and dance into all hours of the night. Despite these efforts to regain a sense of normalcy, however, few of these soldiers seem capable of genuinely relaxing. In some cases, the soldier's tragic memories prove so haunting that they prompt hallucinations and psychotic episodes. In turn, the Israeli government offers therapeutic support centers, and makes a former Mossad agent available for soldiers who have been acutely affected during the course of their service. This is the story of the soldiers who wage a constant battle to regain control of their own psyches, and who occasionally suffer permanent damage due to an ongoing conflict that has raged for decades.