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Wednesday, January 22, 2025
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HOLLYWOOD 7 DAYS IN ENTEBBE
EDITOR'S PICK
'7 Days in Entebbe': Dramatic but fails to thrill (Review By Troy
Ribeiro ; Rating: ***)
Based on events that occurred in 1976, "7 Days in Entebbe" is the recap of the
daring Israeli military rescue operation of 106 hostages, following the
hijacking of an Air France Flight 139 from Tel Aviv to Paris that was diverted
to Entebbe, Uganda.
The narrative begins with black slates informing about the formation of a new
country called Israel and how the Palestinians are not too happy about it. This
is followed by an unusual but impressive sequence featuring a modern-dance
performance choreographed by Ohad Naharin. The troupe includes dancers from
Israel's Batsheva Dance Company, where the dancers perform around chairs
arranged in a semicircle, gradually casting off their Jewish garments in
convulsive moments that suggest a tortured liberation, one not without pain or
fear.
These dance scenes, that pop-up elsewhere during the narrative, have an
expressive power, an emotional charge and a kinetic energy that's mostly absent
elsewhere in the hijack-rescue drama.
Thereafter, the director does not waste any time in transporting us to the
aircraft where the four "terrorists or freedom fighters" make themselves and
their motive known to their fellow passengers.
The four are the two Germans sympathetic to the Palestinian cause - Wilfred Bose
(Daniel Bruhl) and his pill-popping compatriot Brigitte Kuhlmann (Rosamund Pike)
and their two accompanying members from the Popular Front for the Liberation of
Palestine- External Operations.
On the aircraft, Bose fancies himself as the leader of the pack and heads into
the cockpit to muscle around the crew. And on land, surveying his terrified
hostages, the wide-eyed Bose insists that he is a humanitarian and that his
grouse is with the Israeli government and not its people.
Meanwhile the highest ranking members of the Israeli government, along with
Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin (Lior Ashkenazi) and Minister of Defence Shimon
Peres (Eddie Marsan) debate over Israel's policy of "never negotiate with
terrorists".
On the otherhand, the hijackers have trouble of their own as minor schisms in
their respective ideologies begin to surface. Bose, desperate not to have his
agenda undermined by the lingering scent of Nazism, shares Peres' concern over
the options of how the end might turn out.
Tension builds up as the hijackers set a deadline, isolate the Israeli
passengers and wait to see if Rabin might respect their demands but with lack of
suspense or drama, the seven days pass off on a flat-note.
The unwarranted romantic subplot and the cross-cutting of the dance sequence
during the adrenalin raising scenes add to the breaking of the momentum of the
scenes, making the entire screenplay a clumsy and lethargic display.
On the performance front, Rosamund Pike, Daniel Bruhl and Denis Menochet - as
the quietly courageous flight engineer Jacques Lemoine, in well-defined roles
stand out.
Visually though the period is well-captured, the overall effectiveness of
camerawork and production design is bland and run-of-the-mill.
The blending of the realistic elements such as the planning and preparation for
the raid with the more surreal aspects of the film seem forced and awkward.
Overall, while in real life, the rescue operation was a thrilling process its
portrayal in the film is far from it.
British film "7 Days in Entebbe", which revolves around the story of Operation Entebbe, a 1976 counter-terrorist hostage rescue operation, has been cleared by the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) for release in India.The Anil Dhirubhai Ambani-led Reliance Entertainment will distribute the project in India, and is looking forward to its release, said a spokesperson.Read More
A gripping thriller inspired by the true events of the 1976 hijacking of an Air France flight en route from Tel Aviv to Paris, the film depicts the most daring rescue mission ever attempted.
