Soldiers of a non-combat army unit are tasked with placing the final stone in a border that will complete an international peace agreement. They deposit their precious cargo with military precision – in the middle of the desert. The result? A gala peace ceremony is jeopardized and Israel faces the prospect of a new war.
Comedy | 100 Min. | 35mm | Language: Hebrew
Director: Avi Bohbot
Writers: Haim Idisis, Avi Bohbot
Producers: David Silber, Moshe Edri, Leon Edri, Avi Bohbot
Source: Metro Communications, United King, Chaos Films
Production Status: Final draft of script, Fund raising
Sisyphus Syndrome was inspired by absurdist masterpieces such as Catch-22, M.A.S.H., Samuel Beckett’s Waiting for Godot, and Albert Camus’s The Myth of Sisyphus (after which the film is named). The script follows four stories that parallel and complement one another – and throw hilarious twists to an increasingly desperate situation.
Synopsis and Characters
In the heart of a disputed desert territory, a makeshift military border camp surrounds a large stone marker. The soldiers at this camp are in the midst of preparations for a rare ceremony, the likes of which this desert – ravaged by seven wars – has never seen: the placement of the final border stone – the culmination of a long and exhausting peace process. Arriving at the camp is Shabtai, a reserve soldier who only reported for duty so he could be released.
Meanwhile, a helicopter is carrying the last border stone to its official location, where the ceremony is to be held. But Uri and Rehavam, the pilot and copilot, are forced to set it down several kilometers from their designated target. The helicopter crew leaves two soldiers behind to guard the stone, their objections notwithstanding: Avram, the bugler assigned to the ceremony, young and energetic despite his asthma and poor physical condition that render him unfit for combat duty – and Shabtai, who is still confident that he’ll soon be sent home. Avram, an armchair psychologist and Greek philosopher, makes the last moments of reserve duty miserable for Shabtai, who still thinks of himself as strong and fit.
An army truck is racing to this ceremony, bearing a huge rolled-up red carpet. Two soldiers are stuck in the stifling rear compartment: Sultan and Dror, the former a proud experienced and cautious reserve combat veteran and the latter a rash, impatient, hotheaded youngster in compulsory service. They appear to be unable to communicate with the speeding driver. Sultan, the more seasoned warrior of the two, imagines that they’re already dead and that the apparitional vehicle is headed straight for Hell. Dror, who loves life, cannot reconcile himself with this morbid tale of death and hell, but we only find out if he’s actually dead or alive as the closing credits come up.
At the same time, in that same desert wilderness, Amos, a bloodthirsty combat soldier with a glorious battle history, is guarding Omar, who shares the same attributes. Neither is happy about the romantic peace taking shape around them. Omar is a prisoner due to be released during the ceremony in a symbolic act and Amos, his guard, is bored to death by his unchallenging assignment and by Omar’s quarrelsome demeanor. In a moment of weakness, Amos orders Omar to escape and then goes off to capture him. Also recruited to the chase is Dor, a trained military attack dog. They set out confidently, in the tradition of days gone by, but somehow Amos’s plans for a good time go astray and he finds himself involved in a desperate hunt in which he himself becomes the hunted.
The comedy concludes with a macabre funeral for Dor, the heroic dog, who fell in the line of duty. On his way, he picks up Pierre, a guard at the watchtower overlooking the border, even though he no longer has any idea where the border is exactly. What’s more, he can’t even determine whether Lipman is an enemy soldier or serving in the same army as himself, but in his solitude and anguish, Pierre joins him all the same.
On the way to the desert ceremony, the two gather up all the survivors of this misadventure. It now appears that all the snafus are part of one grand and precise plan. All the invitees ultimately arrive at the gala ceremony, if only to find out that there’s still one final border stone that must be rolled up the mountain once again until there is peace here.
