Tin Soldiers

Unfeeling, tin soldiers do not exist and even in so-called “quiet territory,” war is more than suntan lotion, soft ice-cream and drinking binges. This is what three Norwegian soldiers discover in a United Nations camp in Qana, Lebanon in 1996. On April 18 of that year, Israel bombs this camp where eight hundred refugees have sought safety. The Norwegians are launched from their comfortable deck chairs into a veritable nightmare. People with severed limbs, dozens of dead bodies and the smell of charred skin permanently change their outlook on the world. To their horror, the Norwegian government ignores the events in Qana and the Israelis blame Hezbollah, and vice versa. Now, seven years after the incident, the time has come to clear things up. Armed with footage the three soldiers shot in Qana at the time and a video camera, they travel back to the place of the disaster and tell their side of the story. The images they made of an unmanned reconnaissance plane, for example, are crucial evidence of Israel’s tactics. Their video footage is alternated with images of the trip, together providing a poignant illustration of the atrocities the men witnessed.