7 DAYS IN ENTEBBE

Rosamund Pike     Daniel Bruhl     Eddie Marsan     Lior Ashkenazi

     This is a fine account of an event that actually took place in 1976, in which Palestinian revolutionaries hi-jacked an Air France plane with the aim of getting Israel to negotiate with them.  They wanted back Palestinian prisoners that Israel had captured and held, in exchange for the release of Israeli hostages.  The movie illustrates very well the dilemmas that arise from policies about negotiating with terrorists.  There are good arguments on both sides of the issue.  The film goes back and forth between the Palestinian front revolutionaries (two of the main ones are Germans) and the Israeli government officials and—since they ended up in Uganda, Idi Amin finds himself in a position of choosing sides.  Also inserted from time to time is an Israeli dance group performing a number simply to reflect the writhing emotional experiences of all the characters.

     Rosamund Pike and Daniel Bruhl give sensitive performances of the two German Palestinian sympathizers, showing their angst—which goes back and forth between them.  She is more hard-nosed and committed than he is most of the time, but toward the end has second thoughts.  In this respect and in their relationships with others, we get a good idea of the terrorist experience and how differently they think and feel from one another, depending on what is happening at the time, and how they both waver between the two sides of their ambivalence.

     On the Israeli side Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin (Ashkenazi) is in conflict with his defense minister, Shimon Peres (Marsan), the former leaning more toward negotiation and the latter decidedly favoring a military operation to rescue the hostages.  Eventually, the vote is put before the cabinet, all favoring the military plan.

     Director Jose Padilha and writer Gregory Burke present an engaging story in which I stayed engrossed, and one that seems to maintain good balance between strategy and emotion and human concerns.  The policy of negotiation/non-negotiation is topical—along with the Israeli-Palestinian dispute—both conundrums about which no one seems to have a really good answer.  The filmmakers stayed even-keel on these issues, allowing the viewers to see both sides and make their own judgments.

     Very educational!  For me, at least.  I understand a number of previous films have covered this high-jacking incident, (e.g., Victory at Entebbe, Raid on Entebbe, and Operation Thunderbolt), but none was very highly praised.   The criticism of 7 Days in Entebbe as just another remake that didn’t need to be done is likely justified.

Grade:  C                                    By Donna R. Copeland

NORMAN

Richard Gere     Lior Ashkenazi     Michael Sheen     Charlotte Gainsbourg

Dan Stevens     Steve Buscemi     Josh Charles     Hank Azaria

     A fast-talking con artist, Norman Oppenheimer (Gere) never takes “No” for an answer and always seems to manage to get his foot in the door one way or another.  He dreams up more ruses for getting his way than any normal person could, always working on the premise that he can be of help to the other person—usually by introducing them to someone else.  He calls himself a businessman, but the exact nature of this business is never clear.  He whips out his ambiguous business cards continuously, urging the other to call on him anytime. 

     Through a fateful encounter that Norman exploits at just the right time in the life of one of his marks, Israeli Eshel (Ashkenazi), a strange friendship is formed, and Eshel remains grateful to Norman for an act of kindness even after he is elected Prime Minister of Israel.

    Norman continues to work his machinations on his nephew Philip (Sheen), a wealthy man’s aide Bill (Stevens), his rabbi (Buscemi), and Alex (Gainsbourg), an attorney in American-Israeli affairs.  He lies continuously, but manages to keep everyone on the hook, and occasionally is successful in his strategies to get people together.  But most of the time, he gets kicked out of homes, offices, and even the synagogue. 

     Much of the movie is uncomfortable to watch, as Norman spins his tales and we see him lying without compunction; but then, the story takes a turn when Eshel and Alex come to the forefront and the movie becomes a thriller, at the heart of which (surprise!) are ethical questions and dilemmas. 

   Which is more honorable?  To betray a friend in the interest of peace for millions of people, or to refuse to betray a friend, no matter the cost?  This rewards us for sitting through the extended set-up that appears at first to be a typical story of a con game, but turns out to be a study in character with ethical/moral considerations. 

    Writer/director Joseph Cedar (Campfire, Beaufort, Footnote), is not well known in the U.S., although he was born here, then moved with his family to Israel when he was young, returning at some time later to attend film school at New York University.  His Norman screenplay contains the elements one hopes for in this genre—three-dimensional characters, complexity and thoughtfulness in plot, intrigue, suspense, and just enough ambiguity in the ending.  His direction is sound in pacing, focus on story elements, and achievement of a unified whole.

   This may well be one of Richard Gere’s best performances, where he is almost continuously onscreen and must show subtleties in his character, convincing us of his conflicted goals and aspirations and, above all, revealing the poignant loneliness underneath.  In apposition to Gere, Lior Ashkenazi plays the experienced yet naïve politician whose goals are honorable, but needs forces of discipline close to him to keep him on track.  His compromise is worthy of discussion after the film.  I always love Charlotte Gainsbourg’s acting skills, and here she provides the mysteriousness and real threat needed.

     Norman is a bit slow in the beginning, but that may be necessary to adequately set up the intrigue and drama to come.

The art of the con and its sometimes strange and surprising consequences.

Grade:  A-                                    By Donna R. Copeland