Westside Steve Posted September 7, 2018 Report Share Posted September 7, 2018 Operation Finale MGM PG-13. 123 min I have a feeling but OPERATION FINALE will have a problem finding its audience and that’s not because of any fault with the movie or the acting itself. From the previews I think the public would expect kind of an action thriller; an account of an historic military operation a la Argo, but while there is that element I thought it was more of a psychological drama with a controversial and thought-provoking twist. 15 years past the end of World War II a group of very secret Israeli operatives have a plan to go to Argentina capture Adolf Eichmann (Ben Kingsley) reported mastermind of the final solution (the plan to transport millions of Jews to their deaths in concentration camps) and transporting the Nazi officer to Israel to stand trial. That particular exercise isn’t very exciting. He is apprehended with a small amount of trouble and spirited away to a hiding place awaiting transportation out of Argentina. The problems start when that transport is delayed and Eichmann will remain a captive until suitable transportation can be found. For some reason his captors have decided they need him to sign a form and it’s the negotiations to get that done that make up the bulk of the film. The agent who will have the only contact is Peter Malkin (Oscar Isaac) and it’s the back and forth between him and the prisoner that makeup the bones of the story. Since mankind has walked upright there have been periods of stunning evil that have poisoned the minds of human beings, not the least of which consumed Nazi Germany during the time of the Holocaust. Many years ago in Psychology 101 the idea was floated that only human beings and rats will fight with each other for no reason. Whether or not that’s true when madness overtakes thousands or Millions of people I think it’s human nature to turn attention toward a handful of individuals and tell ourselves that without their leadership regular folks could never be convinced to participate in or support or even ignore such things. We are embarrassed and ashamed when we do. In the words of John Milton “They also serve who only stand and wait.” To humanize Adolf Eichmann is a controversial step and during his conversations with Malkin you will question weather he is singularly responsible for the atrocities or just a cog and the machinery of mass insanity. Of course in the final analysis there can be no absolution and regardless of how hard anyone tries to conduct the trial fairly the outcome is inevitable. It’s left up to the viewer if this brings closure, justice or mere revenge. But at the end of the day that’s something for everyone to think about. The reason this film is important is that it gives us the opportunity to do that. Just don’t go in expecting an action thriller. B wSS Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JPPT1974 Posted September 8, 2018 Report Share Posted September 8, 2018 Really to humanize someone who murdered people all because of their heritage sadly that is Hollywood. The way Hollywood thinks. And really the man was beyond a monster. If this was a true biography and wanted to play him as a monster and a murderer, I might consider seeing it. Can't stand it when the Hollywood machine humanizes monsters. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Gipper Posted September 8, 2018 Report Share Posted September 8, 2018 6 hours ago, JPPT1974 said: Really to humanize someone who murdered people all because of their heritage sadly that is Hollywood. The way Hollywood thinks. And really the man was beyond a monster. If this was a true biography and wanted to play him as a monster and a murderer, I might consider seeing it. Can't stand it when the Hollywood machine humanizes monsters. This is such a stupid post. You haven’t seen the movie so you have no clue what it’s about but you make an asinine assumption about it. it does exactly what you asked it to do it: show him as a monster and as a murderer. so I guess now you’re gonna have to go see it to figure it out. The fact that you cannot grasp that even someone is evil is what this guy did can have certain human traits about him is just ridiculous. I think you just hate Hollywood which is of course stupid beyond measure Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Westside Steve Posted September 8, 2018 Author Report Share Posted September 8, 2018 3 hours ago, The Gipper said: This is such a stupid post. You haven’t seen the movie so you have no clue what it’s about but you make an asinine assumption about it. it does exactly what you asked it to do it: show him as a monster and as a murderer. so I guess now you’re gonna have to go see it to figure it out. The fact that you cannot grasp that even someone is evil is what this guy did can have certain human traits about him is just ridiculous. I think you just hate Hollywood which is of course stupid beyond measure I think it's merely an uninformed post. The guy didn't see it so he makes up some story in his head that they made Adolf Eichmann the good guy which they most certainly do not. But during the insanity of War there are hundreds of thousands of people committing unspeakably heinous acts. I think it's disingenuous to pretend that two or three people at the top are solely to blame. WSS Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Gipper Posted September 8, 2018 Report Share Posted September 8, 2018 6 hours ago, Westside Steve said: I think it's merely an uninformed post. The guy didn't see it so he makes up some story in his head that they made Adolf Eichmann the good guy which they most certainly do not. But during the insanity of War there are hundreds of thousands of people committing unspeakably heinous acts. I think it's disingenuous to pretend that two or three people at the top are solely to blame. WSS Fair enough...though I might say that coming to conclusions without knowing anything about something is a fairly stupid thing to do. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Westside Steve Posted September 8, 2018 Author Report Share Posted September 8, 2018 54 minutes ago, The Gipper said: Fair enough...though I might say that coming to conclusions without knowing anything about something is a fairly stupid thing to do. Well he did base it on something I said which was the humanization of Adolf Eichmann. From that one might think they were turning in into a sympathetic character, and even though he was for brief moments the story never makes him into a good guy. WSS Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TexasAg1969 Posted September 8, 2018 Report Share Posted September 8, 2018 11 hours ago, Westside Steve said: I think it's merely an uninformed post. The guy didn't see it so he makes up some story in his head that they made Adolf Eichmann the good guy which they most certainly do not. But during the insanity of War there are hundreds of thousands of people committing unspeakably heinous acts. I think it's disingenuous to pretend that two or three people at the top are solely to blame. WSS I had just moved to Venezuela in Nov. 1959 and he was captured about 6 months later. In our school there was a guy younger than me, so therefore born about 6-7 years after WW II, whose father was a German who had come there after the war. It only dawned on me later in life that he could have been another escaped Nazi, because he was the owner of a successful jewelry store. How would you get a lot of wealth out of Germany in relatively small containers that don't weigh much? Diamonds of course. Where could you have gotten so many? Concentration camps. Now I don't know for a fact that this was the case, but he was the right age (in his late 40's to early 50's) to have been exactly what I am about 90% convinced he was. South America was a major hideout and the dictators of those days were easily persuaded to hide them in plain sight for a price. I saw the movie today with my wife and we both thought it was an excellent movie though I think just a bit of drama may have been added at the end when they were leaving the country with Eichmann in hand. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TexasAg1969 Posted September 9, 2018 Report Share Posted September 9, 2018 Like I said hide in plain sight. Eichmann worked in a Mercedes factory. Why not just hang a Nazi flag out? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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