The Smile of the Lamb (1986) poster
1986 · drama · war · occupation

The Smile of the Lamb

Directed by Shimon Dotan1h 35m1986
  • sombre
  • intense

This Israeli-made film is set along the battle-torn West Bank. Military governor Makram Khouri tries to flush out some fugitive PLO activists by hanging the rotting, stinking carcass of a dead donkey in a village square. Israeli doctor Rami Danon forgets his animosity towards the PLO and, out of compassion, cuts the carcass down. For disobeying Khouri's orders, Danon becomes as much a fugitive as the Palestinians. While in hiding, Danon befriends Arab hermit Tuncel Kurtiz, whose adopted son is a member of the PLO.

Our read · The Smile of the Lamb (1986) reads as a sombre, steady, grounded drama · war · occupation entry — measured in intensity, mid-stakes in scope, measured in temperature, nihilistic in outlook. Hand-scored on twelve axes of taste — mood, pacing, weirdness, hope, stakes, humour, reality, density, warmth, auteur, intensity, and era — with a derived palette drawn from its dominant cinematography.

Cast
Tuncel KurtizRami DanonMakram J. KhouryDan MuggiaIris Hoffman
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The shape of The Smile of the Lamb

DNA · twelve axes

The reading.

Each axis is hand-scored — not derived from votes or genre averages. The marker shows where this film sits; the gradient fill uses the film's own cinematography palette.

Mood · HeavyCosy
Pacing · Slow-burnKinetic
Intensity · GentleExtreme
Weirdness · ConventionalSurreal
Hope · NihilisticRedemptive
Stakes · IntimateEpic
Humour · NoneBroad
Reality · GroundedFantastical
Density · SparseTwisty
Warmth · ColdTender
Auteur · TransparentSignature
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Geometric closeness in the twelve-axis space — pure DNA distance, not “people also liked.” Distance numbers are listed under each title for sceners who like to know the maths.

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