Film review: The Gatekeepers (15)

Dror Moreh's sombre documentary is a journalistic coup. For the first time ever six former heads of Israel's homeland security outfit, the Shin Bet, talk openly on camera about the occupation of Palestinian territory and their long attritional war with terrorists.

These are the men who have ordered bombings and assassinations, some of them captured by spy satellite cameras, some of them in distressing images of collateral damage.

Yet instead of swaggering masters of war these interviewees are thoughtful, wry, and in retrospect more ambivalent about the job than we might have thought. "We are making the lives of millions unbearable," says one unillusioned ex-chief.

Moreh mingles chilling news footage with the talking heads, who all agree that the murder of Rabin was a disastrous turning point for both sides. There is something else they agree on: the only way to peace is through negotiation. If even these hard-headed old strategists think that, surely the policitians must take note?