A father and mother's daring rescue

  I want to start by saying that there's no way to review The Road Between Us: The Ultimate Rescue without acknowledging that many will view the film through a lens of their feelings about the current war in Gaza.

 Those who lean pro-Palestinian may be disturbed by the documentary's intense Israeli focus. Those who tend toward support of Israel may argue that there's no need for Palestinian voices in a purportedly apolitical story about a retired Israeli general who races from Tel Aviv to the Nahal Oz Kibbutz in an attempt to rescue his son's family from the terrorist onslaught of Oct. 7, 2023.

  I'll say this: I'd be open to watching a documentary about displaced Palestinian civilians in Gaza, even if it made no reference to Hamas's brutal attack, focusing only on the plight of a family caught in the storm of war. The human dimension in all these stories matters.

  Road Between Us arrives with a bit of history. Initially, the Toronto International Film Festival disinvited the film from its program, arguing that it lacked the required clearances. Some felt the festival had capitulated to fears of disruptive protests. 

  Ultimately, the festival reneged and showed the film. which tells the story of how retired Israeli general Noam Tibon, and his wife Gali, traveled from Tel Aviv to the Nahal Oz Kibbutz to rescue their son, daughter-in-law, and three grandchildren who were under siege by Hamas terrorists. The film went on to win The People's Choice Award for best documentary at the festival.

   Road Between offers interviews with Noam and Gali, kibbutz security officials, survivors, and Noam's son and daughter-in-law, who spent hours locked in a safe room where they remained silent lest they be discovered and killed by Hamas marauders who were inside their home.

   All I'll say here is that if I were in trouble, I couldn't think of two better people to come to my rescue. Retired or not, Noam approaches his task like a soldier whose skills remain undiminished.

  I should caution that some won't want to see the sampling of video Hamas live-streamed during the attack and which appears in the film. But if you're open to a story about a father and mother's courage when facing an extreme situation, Road Between Us deserves a look.  Canadian director Barry Avrich tells the story in tense, involving ways.

    Just don't expect to emerge with a full understanding of the current conflict: That's something no film could accomplish and, it's beyond what this pulse-pounding chronicle of a heroic rescue can achieve.