TheissueofWarwidowrepresentationinIsraelicinemaisoneofthemostcomplexforthelocalindustryforitseemstobeuniqueandwithaverylocalandspecificiconography.
ThewarWidowisadifficultcharactertodigest.BecausethisisanespeciallypainfultopicinIsrael,itsmodeofrepresentationisalmostalwaysproblematic.
GilaAlmagorinTofano's"siege"isoneofthefirstcharactersofthe"modern"warwidowstoappearonIsraelicinemascreens.
Thehumanandsocialcomplexityofthestatusofwidowswasnotrepresentedadequatelyandpersonallyuntilhercomplexandfineappearanceinthisfilm.
ItwasmostlyPrecededbyclichesofheroicwomenwhohavesacrificedforthenationwithcharacterstowhichitwasverydifficulttogetattached,nortotheirpersonalgrief.
"Siege"wasdirectedbyanunknownItaliandirectorofthatperiod.AlthoughGilbertoTofanowasbroughtasaprofessionaldirectoronthewingsofinspirationmadebytheFrenchNewWaveofthoseyears,hemanagedtoturnoutaveryexcitingworkwhichhascaughttheIsraeliwarmthandsenseofsocialsiegewhichsurroundstheIsraeliwidows,includingthegreatexpectationsfromthemandthesocialstigmas.
TofanowrappedhisleadingladywithlotsofwarmthandgaveaplaceofhonortoAlmagor'simpressivepresenceinthefilm.
ThisiswithoutadoubtoneofAlmagor'sbestandmostaccurateperformances.TherestraintinherperformanceplustheshootingandexpressiveuseofanglesbyTofanoandhissoftEuropeantouchwhichwasfarofffromtheaggressivelocalproductmanagedtoproduceasenseofdocumentinganauthentictragedywithatangiblepersonaltouchthatminimizedthenationaldimension.Theresultstandsthetestoftimeproudlyseveraldecadesafteritscreation.