In our mini-mini-mini version of the Toronto International Film Festival, we’ve seen two films that really grabbed us.

Walk on Water, an Israeli film written by Gal Ochovsky and directed by Eytan Fox, is just brilliant. It’s entertaining, deeply moving and possibly the most perfectly political movie I’ve ever seen. I found myself missing the characters’ company a few hours after the film ended.

Gunner Palace is a documentary about the daily life of U.S. troops in Baghdad — specifically, the 2/3 Field Artillery based in one of Uday Hussein’s palaces. Filmmaker Michael Tucker elicits incredibly candid comments from the soldiers about their sense of doubt and futility over the American occupation.

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