Operation Finale (2018) on Netflix

Directed by Chris Weitz

Starring Ben Kingsley, Oscar Isaac, and Lior Raz

Operation Finale – considered to be a remake of the 1979 film The House on Garibaldi Street – is based on a true story: In the 1960s, a group of Israeli Mossad officers traveled to Argentina to find and capture Adolph Eichmann, “the architect of the Final Solution,” and bring him to Israel, where he would be tried publicly for his war crimes. (Mossad is the national intelligence agency of Israel.)

Why I watched it: It provides some insights into something I was always fascinated by, but never researched: the community of Nazis that fled to Argentina after WWII.

What I doubted: Although based on real events, some elements of the plot seemed unlikely. I suspect they were introduced to increase the suspense.

What I believed: During his week-long interrogation, Eichmann was not responsive to the intimidation of five of his six interlocutors, but yielded finally to the softer approach of the sixth. This corresponds to what I’ve read about the ineffectiveness of torture as a method of interrogation.

What was brave about it: It addresses the question of whether a soldier has responsibility over and culpability for his actions during a war – and if so, to what extent. (The same theme was explored in The Spy Who Came in From the Cold.)

What was not so brave about it: In this case, the soldier in question was Adolph Eichmann. His defense – that he was just following orders – was presented, but without strength behind it. It was a straw-man defense, too easily pushed over. That can work in terms of the horizontality of the plot (the bad guy gets his just deserts), but it didn’t work on a philosophical level. I found myself wishing that the character had been given more and better lines, so that the antithetical argument could have been more strongly argued.

Interesting Facts 

* While filming, Ben Kingsley kept a photo of Holocaust survivor Elie Wiesel on set to remind himself of his responsibility for historical accuracy. He also did this while filming Schindler’s List, but with a photo of Anne Frank.

* Hannah Arendt, a film about the life of the German-Jewish philosopher, picks up where Operation Finale leaves off and offers an in-depth look at Eichmann’s trial from Arendt’s perspective.

Critical Reviews 

* “As a more complete retelling of a particular moment of history… the film is a diverting watch, anchored with enough of Weitz’s intriguing personal touches to keep it from feeling like a glorified History Channel special.” (The Atlantic)

* “Despite clichéd depictions of Nazi atrocities, the movie persuasively evokes, with its wealth of details, the slender threads on which historical events – and historical truth – depend.” (The New Yorker)

* “A well-made spy thriller replete with scenes of secret surveillance, faked passports, and hairbreadth escapes.” (Seattle Times)

You can watch the trailer here.