TheissueofWarwidowrepresentationinIsraelicinemaisoneofthemostcomplexforthelocalindustryforitseemstobeuniqueandwithaverylocalandspecificiconography. ThewarWidowisadifficultcharactertodigest.BecausethisisanespeciallypainfultopicinIsrael,itsmodeofrepresentationisalmostalwaysproblematic. GilaAlmagorinTofano's"siege"isoneofthefirstcharactersofthe"modern"warwidowstoappearonIsraelicinemascreens. Thehumanandsocialcomplexityofthestatusofwidowswasnotrepresentedadequatelyandpersonallyuntilhercomplexandfineappearanceinthisfilm. ItwasmostlyPrecededbyclichesofheroicwomenwhohavesacrificedforthenationwithcharacterstowhichitwasverydifficulttogetattached,nortotheirpersonalgrief. "Siege"wasdirectedbyanunknownItaliandirectorofthatperiod.AlthoughGilbertoTofanowasbroughtasaprofessionaldirectoronthewingsofinspirationmadebytheFrenchNewWaveofthoseyears,hemanagedtoturnoutaveryexcitingworkwhichhascaughttheIsraeliwarmthandsenseofsocialsiegewhichsurroundstheIsraeliwidows,includingthegreatexpectationsfromthemandthesocialstigmas. TofanowrappedhisleadingladywithlotsofwarmthandgaveaplaceofhonortoAlmagor'simpressivepresenceinthefilm. ThisiswithoutadoubtoneofAlmagor'sbestandmostaccurateperformances.TherestraintinherperformanceplustheshootingandexpressiveuseofanglesbyTofanoandhissoftEuropeantouchwhichwasfarofffromtheaggressivelocalproductmanagedtoproduceasenseofdocumentinganauthentictragedywithatangiblepersonaltouchthatminimizedthenationaldimension.Theresultstandsthetestoftimeproudlyseveraldecadesafteritscreation.