Martin Kubina

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                          Paratroopers (Masa Alunkot) Judd Ne'eman - 1977


2. Did Weismann (Moni Moshonov) commit suicide or was he killed in a training accident? Is it
possible to know? Argue your opinion according to the cinematic choices of the scene and other
hints in the plot and narrative.


I think, that the scene was shown in a way, that does not allow to decide with certainty. It is not
possible to know, because the scene was shown in one long shot, in which the face of the character
cannot be seen well in a crucial moment.

I would argue, that the creators constructed such uncertainty intentionally. Firstly they might
have used broad spectrum of techniques to make the situation clear. Some of them probably was not
used because, they would not fit into overall style of the film (like inner voice or flash forward,
which were used only once – from the perspective of the main character), but there were still lot
of more subtle techniques, that might have been used to express this (like an eye contact between
the characters, or close up to Weismann's eyes, or change in a speed of the film). Instead of that
the scene happened really fast, in one long shot, in which the face was not clearly visible.

More importantly the uncertainty was built on purpose, because later in the film the uncertainty
itself is really important. The uncertainty inhibits a disagreement between few characters and it
also allows to express a tension inside the main character. Little by little the main character
starts to doubt, if he evaluated the situation correctly, and thus if he is responsible for
Weismann's death. Eventually the main character breaks down. Significantly enough it happened
during the investigation of the accident,  right after the situation, in which an investigator
situated the character into Wiesmann's position and under similar pressure like Weismann was. Than
the character repeated Weismann's fault and than he brook down.

In the end it is not important, if Weismann killed himself intentionally or not. Important are the
doubts created in the character, which forced him to quit army (until he recalled, that his goal in
the army is not in the training facility).