OPERATION FINALE is a true story based on the 1960 covert operation by the Israel intelligence agency to track down one of the notorious Nazis – Adolf Eichmann. The film, starring Oscar Isaac and Sir Ben Kingsley, is emotional, gripping, and true to the core when we think about Holocaust, and Israel and the Jewish people in particular.
The film in its introductory note made the subject clear by stating that “between 1939 and 1945, the Nazis murdered over ten million “enemies” of the state, six million of them European Jews. At the end of the war, Hitler, Himmler, and Goering all escaped justice by taking their own lives. The remaining mastermind of the Holocaust vanished and was never brought to trial…”
Well, here the film focuses on the 1960s – when most people have started to erase their memory of the dark period, or at least trying to find some peace, but not the team of Israeli secret agents who are active in tracking down and killing former Nazis.
Fifteen years after the end of World War II, Israel’s intelligence agency Mossad launched a top-secret raid by sending its officers to Argentina, to capture notorious Eichmann. He was responsible for facilitating and managing the logistics involved in the mass deportation of Jews to the concentration camps.
Instead of killing Eichmann in Argentina itself, where he was living and working under an assumed name, the government of Israel wanted to capture him alive and put him on trial. This is where the film becomes tense and thrilling.
Kingsley plays Eichmann, while Isaac lives the onscreen role of heroic Mossad agent Peter Malkin. Directed by Chris Weitz, Operation Finale is very tightly scripted by Matthew Orton. The film becomes more interesting as the story moves with flashbacks, giving glimpses of Nazi terror and how this affected the onscreen characters at different levels.
I’m sure making a movie on Holocaust is certainly a task as it is something no one wants to remember because of the monumental pain it caused to the whole of humanity. Operation Finale is a very effective historical thriller and the account to bring Nazis to justice is very well documented with the help of exceptional acting.
Ben Kingsley’s journey from Gandhi to Nazi is very much evident and Oscar Isaac has delivered an award-worthy performance.
While the treatment of the film is focused on the whole procedure than the action, there are a few moments that could have been used to give some narrative edge. I could not really understand the conversation between Eichmann and Malkin. Probably, this was to establish the nature of Eichmann, but the psychological battle somehow slows the pace of the film. Nevertheless, it’s a treat to watch Operation Finale.
Watch the Movie Trailer – Operation Finale
Director: Chris Weitz
Cast: Oscar Isaac, Ben Kingsley, Lior Raz, Melanie Laurent, Nick Kroll, Joe Alwyn, Haley Lu Richardson, Michael Aronov, Ohad Knoller, Greg Hill, Torben Liebrecht, Mike Hernandez, Greta Scacchi and Pêpê Rapazote.
Writer: Matthew Orton
Genres: Dramas, Biographical Dramas, Thrillers, Spy Thrillers
Where to watch Operation Finale (2018)
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