Director Mike Burstyn's 'Azimuth' Distills a Lifetime of Wisdom About the Middle East (Guest Blog)

It was the “summer of love” in 1967 when Israel repelled a concerted effort by its Arab neighbors to drive it into the sea. What took Moses a generation to achieve was about to be ripped apart by a blistering phalanx of artillery, air power and troops. It was an ambush. A 50-to-1 imbalance putting Israel into a role that it has grown accustomed to. This time, the underdog served the combined armies of Egypt, Syria and Jordan a stunning David vs. Goliath defeat. In six days Goliath was brought to his knees. Had God planned this war, he would have reserved the seventh day for a day of rest. Had God created a movie of it, it might look like the new movie “Azimuth.”

The film was written and directed by Mike Burstyn, the Bronx-born son of Yiddish actors who got his start in Yiddish theater, and at 71 years old, made his first foray into directing with a movie that should be a precursor to every diplomatic mission to the Middle East.

“Azimuth” exposes conflict and salvation between two soldiers — an Israeli (Yiftach Klein) and an Egyptian (Sammy Sheik) — deadlocked in an abandoned UN outpost, during the ceasefire that ended the Six Day War.

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It is not a war movie. It is more like a dance — a pas de deux in time to the staccato riffs by Messrs. Uzi and Kalishnakov, choreographed to a brilliant score by Sharon Farber that seamlessly weaves an ethnic delirium without overpowering the action. The final scene seeps into your consciousness. When asked how he directed that scene, Burstyn claimed it was beshert — a word that means “destined.” In those final seconds, the movie combines cinematography with divine intervention, and makes it all look real.

“The metaphor is that at the end, the whole idea that we can survive is that we cooperate, or we are going to die in the desert,” he explained.

There’s a certain yiddishkeit, both damning and forgiving of the world, that glistened in this movie. I remembered it with the kvetching and moaning of my parents: “Complain that you had no shoes until you saw a man that had no feet.” Burstyn also envelops the audience in empathy. You care for both characters, because in their isolation it’s difficult to remember who they are fighting, or why. It becomes about two men, who fight for all of us.

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Burstyn recently played a rabbi in Tzion Baruch’s “Juda,” an Israeli vampire dark comedy that is earning rave reviews in Israel. But that seems to be his modus operandi — go for what is unfamiliar and turn it into art. His storied career has included live theater, a Dutch television variety show, as well as film, most notably playing an Israeli Forrest Gump called Kuni-Lemi in 1966’s “The Flying Matchmaker.”

How did that prepare him to write, co-produce, cast and direct his first feature film at the age of 71? “The Six-Day War changed the Middle East, it changed the world and it changed me. I didn’t think I was mature enough to direct, but I had this story that I decided to do something with,” he said. “I wrote a first draft and showed it to my neighbor who is a professional screenwriter. She said it was amazing and thought that the first draft was enough to submit to an investor.”

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The investor was also impressed. “He said, ‘Mike, this is something that we have to do. It’s a message that we need to get out to the world, it’s a message of hope,'” Burstyn recalled. “This movie is about hope.”

It dawned on me why the UN outpost was abandoned. With the 50th anniversary of the war approaching, the metaphor of that abandoned outpost was relevant. When it comes to Israel, the UN is an absentee parent out on a bender. Mike Burstyn might think the movie is about hope, and to those who live in Israel with a gas mask within reach and the steps to the nearest bomb shelter part of muscle-memory, I can see that. What is beautiful about “Azimuth” is that doves do not fly out of exploding grenades. “Azimuth” bleeds for humanity.

33 Classic World War II Movies, From 'Stalag 17' to 'Dunkirk' (Photos)

To celebrate Veterans Day, we take a look back at some of the most culturally and historically significant war films.
"A Walk in the Sun" (1945)

This film is based on the novel by Harry Brown and was directed by Lewis Milestone.

In 2016, the film was deemed "culturally, historically and aesthetically significant" by the United States Library of Congress, and selected for preservation in its National Film Registry.
Fox
"Battleground" (1949)
A squad deals with being trapped in the besieged city of Bastogne.
MGM
"From Here to Eternity" (1953)
The film is set in 1941 Hawaii and is about a private who is punished for not boxing on his unit's team. It stars Burt Lancaster, Montgomery Clift and Deborah Kerr.
Columbia
"Stalag 17" (1953)
Starring William Holden and Don Taylor, a German POW camp barracks marketeer is suspected of being an informer when two American war prisoners are killed.
Paramount Pictures
"The Caine Mutiny" (1954)
Starring Humphrey Bogart, Jose Ferrer and Van Johnson, it follows a U.S. Naval captain who shows signs of mental instability that jeopardizes the ship.
Columbia
"Bridge on the River Kwai" (1957)
A British colonel cooperates to oversee a construction of a railway bridge for their captors after settling differences with a Japanese POW camp. It stars William Holden, Alec Guinness and Jack Hawkins.
Columbia
"The Guns of Navarone" (1961)
A British team is sent to occupied Greek territory to destroy a massive German gun emplacement. It stars Gregory Peck, David Niven and Anthony Quinn.
Columbia Pictures
"The Longest Day" (1962)
John Wayne and Robert Ryan star in the film following the events of D-Day.
20th Century Fox
"The Great Escape" (1963)
Starring Steve McQueen and James Garner, Allied POWs plan for an escape from a German camp.
United Artists
"The Dirty Dozen" (1967)
Starring Lee Marvin and Ernest Borgnine, a U.S. Army Major is assigned to lead convicted murderers to assassinate German officers in World War II.
MGM
"Where Eagles Dare" (1968)
Starring Clint Eastwood and Richard Burton, allied agents stage a raid to free an American General.
MGM
"Battle of Britain" (1969)
Michael Caine, Trevor Howard and Harry Andrews star in the film about the British Royal Air Force against the Nazi Germany Air Force.
United Artists
"Patton" (1970)
The Francis J. Schaffner-directed film chronicles the careers of American general, George S. Patton.
20th Century Fox
"Kelly's Heroes" (1970)
U.S. soldiers sneak across enemy lines to get their hands on Nazi treasure. The film stars Clint Eastwood, Don Rickles and Telly Savalas.
MGM
"Tora! Tora! Tora!" (1970)
The film dramatizes the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor.
20th Century Fox
"A Bridge Too Far" (1977)
Starring Sean Connery, Michael Caine and Laurence Olivier, "A Bridge Too Far" chronicles the events of Operation Market Garden in 1944.
United Artists
"The Big Red One" (1980)
Starring Lee Marvin, Mark Hamill and Robert Carradine, the film chronicles the story of a sergeant and his unit as they try to survive World War II.
United Artists
"Das Boot" (1981)
Starring Jurgen Prochnow, Herbert Groenemeyer and Klaus Wennemann, the film chronicles the world of a WWII German U-boat.
Columbia
"Come and See" (1985)

This Soviet anti-war film was directed by Elen Klimov and was based on the 1978 book "I Am from the Fiery Village." The film focuses on the Nazi German occupation of Belarus as witnessed by a young Belarusian partisan teenager.
Mosfilm
"Empire of the Sun" (1987)
Another Steven Spielberg-directed film stars Christian Bale and John Malkovich in the film about a young English boy who struggles to survive under Japanese occupation.
Warner Bros.
"A Midnight Clear" (1992)
The film starring Peter Berg, Kevin Dillon and Arye Gross tells the story of the American intelligence unit which finds a German platoon wishing to surrender.
Columbia
"Saving Private Ryan" (1998)
Starring Tom Hanks, Matt Damon, Tom Sizemore and Edward Burns, the film follows a group of U.S. soldiers that go behind enemy lines to retrieve a paratrooper.
DreamWorks
"The Thin Red Line" (1998)
Terrence Malick's adaptation of James Jones' 1962 novel stars Jim Caviezel, Sean Penn and Nick Nolte, and focuses on the conflict at Guadalcanal.
The Criterion Collection
"Enemy at the Gates" (2001)
Starring Jude Law, Joseph Fiennes, Ed Harris and Rachel Weisz, it's about a Russian and German sniper who play a game of cat-and-mouse.
Paramount
"To End All Wars" (2001)
Four Allied POWs endure hard treatment while they are captured by the Japanese during World War II. It stars Robert Carlyle and Kiefer Sutherland.
Argyll Film Partners
"Pearl Harbor" (2001)
The Michael Bay-directed film starred Ben Affleck, Josh Hartnett and Kate Beckinsale and follows the story of two best friends as they go off to war.
Buena Vista
"Downfall" (2004)
In the German biographical film, the final secretary of Adolf Hitler tells the story of the Fuehrer's final days.
Newmarket FIlms
"Flags of Our Fathers" (2006)
Clint Eastwood directed this film also, starring Ryan Philippe, Barry Pepper and Joseph Cross. It follows the life stories of six men who raised the flat at the Battle of Iwo Jima.
Paramount Pictures
"Letters from Iwo Jima" (2006)
Clint Eastwood directed the film about the battle of Iwo Jima between the U.S. and Imperial Japan.
Paramount Pictures
"Valkyrie" (2008)
Tom Cruise, Bill Nighy and Carice van Houten star in the film that dramatizes the July 20 assassination plot against Adolf Hitler.
United Artists
"Inglorious Basterds" (2009)
A group of Jewish U.S. soldiers plan to assassinate Nazi leaders in France. The Quentin Tarantino directed film stars Brad Pitt, Diane Kruger and Eli Roth.
The Weinstein Company
"Fury" (2014)
Brad Pitt, Shia LaBeouf and Logan Lerman star in the David Ayer-directed film.
Columbia Pictures
"Dunkirk" (2017)

Christopher Nolan recounts the heroic efforts to evacuate Allied forces surrounded by Nazis on the beaches of France at a critical moment in World War II.
Warner Bros.

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Here are a few films that best shine light on the heroics of those who died while serving in the armed forces during WWII

To celebrate Veterans Day, we take a look back at some of the most culturally and historically significant war films.

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BIO Richard Stellar

Winner of the Los Angeles Press Club's best blog award and a Southern California Journalism Award for his HollyBlogs, as well as an award for the Facebook group that helped to muscle the salvation of long-term care for the motion picture and television industry, Stellar's "vituperative blog on TheWrap" (Vanity Fair) focuses on issues related to the motion picture and entertainment industry. Stellar is founder of The Man/Kind Project, Inc., a 501(c)(3) corporation whose mission is to fight religious and cultural intolerance through the arts while building bridges of tolerance for all people. Stellar lives in Woodland Hills, California, with his wife of over 30 years, Nuala, and much too much Beatles memorabilia.

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