Incitement

I live in Israel. This is a very accurate representation of what happened, but even if it didn't, it would still be good. The movie is well done, with claustrophobic, stressful cinematography, that makes the viewer dread the entire film. The score is also pretty good, and the actors are giving a great performance. The character of Igal amir is flashed out, and we see his transformation, and how he is pushed to his limits by the radical groups in Israel. I would say that it does drag at times, but overall it's a great movie.

Very well-made and difficult to watch, this film does justice to its topic. As a potential assassin Igal Amir needed only a few (but powerful) motivators to lead him to a gun and help him pull the trigger. In doing so he changed the course of history. With great restraint this film delves into both Amir and the influences around him leading eventually to the murder of Prime Minister Rabin. The direction and acting are on a very high level and anyone wishing to gain insight and learn lessons from this horrific event should invest the time in seeing this film. It provokes thought as well as feeling, thus qualifying it as an important piece of film making.

The world got shocked on the 4th of November, 1995, when Israeli PM Yitzhak Rabin got assassinated.* While Rabin did not set out to change the foundation of Israel's relations with the Palestinians, he nonetheless wanted to grant them some autonomy. This enraged Israel's far-right religious community, who saw him as a traitor. His assassin, Yigal Amir, came from this community.

Yaron Zilberman's "Yamim noraim" ("Incitement" in English) focuses on Amir and his radicalization. Israel's submission to the 92nd Academy Awards for Best Foreign Language Film depicts the religious establishment as the ones who drove Amir to murder Rabin, even if they didn't tell him to do so. They put up posters of Rabin depicting him as Israel's enemy. Either way, these are some scary individuals; it's almost as if they inspired the Taliban. We saw similar depictions of Obama from the far right (many of them evangelical Christians) in the US. Regardless of the religion, fundamentalists are no one to trust.

Overall, this is a fine movie. In keeping the focus on Yigal Amir, it shows his evolution from typical Orthodox person to full-on fanatic. Frightening stuff. Definitely see it.

*I was approximately the same age at that time that my parents were when JFK got assassinated. As Mark Twain put it, history doesn't always repeat itself, but sometimes it rhymes.

Set in early 90's, director Yaron Zilberman's sophomore feature film follows a young university student who becomes a radical leader determined to exterminate the enemy among his Jewish community, as he engages on a political war against Israel's Prime Minister, Yitzhak Rabin. Rising star Yehuda Nahari Halevi gives a breakthrough performance as the villain protagonist, building up his character with incredible skills: he must fulfill his duties with family, friends and girlfriend, all while trying to organize a fully-armed, rebel movement. Israel's official entry for the 2020 0scars, and named Best Film by the Israeli Film Academy, it captures the anxiety and tension of the crime with extreme brilliance and fast paced action, while connecting the crime to relevant romantic and familiar insights. Zilberman conceives a suspenseful, detailed and observational psychological thriller depicting a man's journey from a regular activist guy to a notorious murderer.

I thought this movie was excellently well acted and directed. It was seemed very close to the truth about this disturbed individual and the events that caused him to act as he did. Having lived through this period in Israel, I came out of the theater very disturbed and upset. An important movie which the powers at the top tried to prevent larger circulation.