A documentary that tells the story of the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas-led attacks through the experiences of an Israeli family living near the Gaza border, “The Road Between Us: The Ultimate Rescue,” generated a cinematic controversy in August when the Toronto International Film Festival pulled it from its September lineup, then reversed that decision.
Arguments about potential censorship and rights issues were tossed around, but statements from both the filmmakers and the festival left precisely what had happened a bit murky. Now that “The Road Between Us” is going into release, the bottom line from the perspective of a review is that it is simply a shoddy piece of moviemaking.
Much of the film, directed by Barry Avrich, has been edited with the hectic pace of an action movie trailer, and Avrich’s overuse of the thundering score from “Sicario” suggests that that’s the genre he had in mind. After an old Edward R. Murrow clip lays out the relevant geography, “The Road Between Us” begins by interviewing Amir and Miri Tibon, a couple living on a kibbutz with their young children.
When the attack began, Amir notified his father, Noam Tibon, a retired Israeli major general in Tel Aviv, about 50 miles away. Noam’s family nickname, his wife, Gali, explains, is “911,” and as the film retraces his steps with him, it presents him as a decisive, armed man on a mission.
Noam and Gali recount a race to the kibbutz, describing efforts to save not only their family but also a number of wounded Israelis, while Amir and Miri recall being trapped with their daughters in a pitch-black safe room during the onslaught. It would be easy to dismiss the movie’s perspective as limited and jingoistic, but “The Road Between Us” never pretends to offer more than an in-the-moment chronicle of a violent clash. The bigger problem is that its slickness cheapens the most harrowing recollections.
The Road Between Us: The Ultimate Rescue
Not rated. Running time: 1 hour 35 minutes. In theaters.
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