From the crossroads of faith and media: Operation Finale

Directed by Chris Weitz (The Golden Compass, The Twilight Saga: New Moon) Operation Finale tells the true story of the Israeli espionage team that, fifteen years after the end of WWII, captured SS officer and holocaust architect Adolf Eichmann (Sir Ben Kingsley) who was hiding in plain sight in Argentina (where the movie was shot). Their mission was not to kill him but to bring him to Israel for a trial that would be televised around the world.

With all the elements of a top-flight spy story, perhaps the most surprising thing about the film is that it wasn’t made years earlier. At least, if a previous movie version of the Eichmann mission was made, I’m unaware of it.

While Sir Ben Kingsley (who in the eighties won an Oscar for playing Gandhi) once again proves his mettle as one of the industry’s most versatile actors, it’s his scenes with Oscar Isaac (Star Wars: The Last Jedi) as abductor Peter Malkin that really crackle.

In those scenes, Operation Finale spins a thought-provoking glimpse into the nature of evil. Sir Ben Kingsley and Oscar Isaac as Eichmann and Malkin provide an example of what fine acting is all about.  Operation Finale is recommended.