Movie Review: Checkpoint (2003)

The Corruption of Humanity Under Occupation

Cinéma vérité is a style of documentary filmmaking that avoids narration, interviews, or overt explanations. Instead, the camera acts as a silent observer, allowing the audience to experience events as they happen.

Howwarah Checkpoint, July 2005

Through this approach, Yoav Shamir’s Checkpoint (2003) draws viewers into the lives of Palestinians navigating the daily indignities of Israeli military checkpoints and the soldiers enforcing these restrictions. The lack of commentary ensures the moments captured feel raw and unfiltered, leaving interpretation to the audience. It’s a storytelling choice that some people may find problematic, but it’s really a show, don’t tell approach that I feel deepens the emotional impact, immersing viewers in the stark realities of life under occupation.

The Hidden Machinery of Occupation
While the occupation often makes headlines during times of war and crisis, Checkpoint zooms in on the quieter, everyday oppression that defines Palestinian life. Through interactions between soldiers and civilians, the film reveals a system built on control and humiliation. Each checkpoint becomes a stage where lives are disrupted, dignity is stripped away, and the very basics of freedom are denied.

One of the film’s most striking insights is how even "well-meaning" soldiers end up enforcing these degrading policies. Many appear uncertain, frustrated, or uncomfortable while carrying out their orders. Yet, despite their intentions, they still participate in a structure that humiliates families, denies medical care, and erodes hope. We also see outright harassment of young girls from some soldiers, while others try to act considerately but end up enforcing the same inhumane regulations, despite any personal discomfort.

Not Individuals, But a Corrupt System
From social media posts and images emerging from Gaza, we see soldiers acting with outright cruelty: killing, destroying, and celebrating the suffering of Palestinians. Checkpoint highlights a different but equally disturbing aspect of the occupation—the way even ordinary soldiers, behaving relatively decently, are complicit in a system that is corrupting them, as well as dehumanizing the Palestinians. One soldier encapsulates this mindset, saying outright: “We are the humans; they are animals.”

By observing these interactions without narration or commentary, Shamir shifts the focus away from individual morality and onto the very system of occupation. The message is clear: while some individuals may act cruelly, maliciously, and even evil, others may not. But the system itself breeds inequality, humiliation, and cruelty.

A Timely Reminder Amid Current Violence
In the context of the current genocide in Gaza, Checkpoint is more relevant than ever. The film reminds us that the occupation is not just about military operations or large-scale violence. It’s about a daily reality that has persisted for three-quarters of a century—a reality that wears people down, strips them of dignity, and perpetuates cycles of anger and despair.

Shamir’s decision to use cinéma vérité, with no narration or interviews, allows viewers to draw their own conclusions. The film doesn’t seek to lecture or simplify, but instead immerses its audience in the grim realities of the occupation. This approach is both its greatest strength and its most haunting feature.

Ultimately, Checkpoint is not just about the individual soldiers and civilians caught in the conflict. While the film shows how systems of control harm humanity on both sides, it’s important to remember the difference: one side holds power as the occupier, while the other side bears the daily suffering and loss of freedom as the occupied.

Checkpoint is a must-watch for anyone seeking to understand the broader consequences of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

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Article Series Zionism