‘Beaufort’: How Israel left Lebanon in 2000 with a bang

Welcome to The Reel Schmooze with ToI film reviewer Jordan Hoffman and host Amanda Borschel-Dan, where we bring you all the entertainment news and film reviews a Jew can use.

The duo sat down to record early this week during the confluence of three major events: Iran again struck Israel, the Tonys were awarded, and RUSH played in Los Angeles.

WATCH the full episode here:

Movie maven Hoffman gives us the Jangles from the awards recognizing the best Broadway productions during the 2025–26 season and follows up with all that is Jewish about RUSH.

The main feature this week is Joseph Cedar’s 2007 “Beaufort,” which became all too relevant again when the IDF recaptured the medieval castle early last week.

Set in 2000, the blockbuster Israeli film depicts the (then) final week of the IDF’s occupation of the famed UNESCO site in southern Lebanon. In the grisly Oscar-nominated movie, we meet — and lose — soldier after soldier who are stuck on the besieged rock.

As it hits all too close to home for mother-of-soldiers Borschel-Dan, she decides to grade the film according to two scales. Let’s hear who gave it an “oy,” “meh” or the prized “not bad” this week on The Reel Schmooze.

The Reel Schmooze is produced by Ari Schlacht and can be found wherever you get your podcasts.

Check out last week’s The Reel Schmooze here: