Sony Pictures Classics has debuted the first trailer for Lebanon, which won the Golden Lion at last year’s Venice Film Festival.  The story revolves around the 1982 invasion of Lebanon, and is told entirely from the perspective of a tank manned by four young men who have never fought in a war before.  This marks writer/director Samuel Maoz’s feature debut; Oshri Cohen, Itay Tiran, Michael Moshonov, Zohar Strauss and Ashraf Barhom star.

I like the cramped quarters point of view applied to the narrative --- the trailer quotes one critic who deemed it the “Das Boot of tank films”.  (Ah yes, the bottomless genre of “tank film”.)  With this and Buried, it looks like we’re in for a fantastic summer of single-setting movies.  Check out the trailer after the jump.

Here’s the official synopsis.

The First Lebanon War - June, 1982. A lone tank is dispatched to search a hostile town that has already been bombarded by the Israeli Air Force. What seems to be a simple mission gradually spins out of control. Shmuel the gunner, Assi the commander, Herzl the loader and Yigal the driver are the tank's crew, four 20-something boys who have never fought in a war and are now operating a killing machine.

Though trying to remain brave, the boys are pushed to their mental limits as they struggle to survive in a situation they cannot contain, and try not to lose their humanity in the chaos of war.

Lebanon is slated for limited release on August 13, 2010.