Incitement

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.

Greetings again from the darkness. Since November 4, 1995, the day that Yigal Amir shot and killed Israel Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin, speculation has existed that there could have been peace in the Middle East - if only the assassination had not occurred. The film opens on the first Oslo Peace Accord in 1994. Why was there a segment of the population concerned about possible peace? They were angry at the idea of surrendering their "promised land" to Palestinians and the Chairman of the PLO, Yasser Arafat.

Writer-director Yaron Zilberman and co-writers Yair Hizmi and Ron Leshem aren't focused on what an end to the hostilities might look like today. Instead they offer up a psychological study of Yigal Amir (played by a forceful Yehuda Nahari Halevi) and what drove him to take the fateful action that changed the course of history. The film is presented as a slow-build thriller, and it mainly takes us through Yigal's transformation from activist to assassin ... a giant and significant step.

Yigal is a Law student at Bar-Ilan, and the college campus is filled with protests and tables dispensing information on all sides. Soon enough, Yigal is seeking counsel from rabbis who seem to be on board with revenge. When someone becomes obsessed, it's not uncommon for them to 'hear what they want to hear.' Yigal sees Rabin fitting into the Jewish law of "pursuer/Rodif and Informer", and he believes himself to be guided by Talmud and rabbis. The film is not about Yigal's glory, but rather WHY he did it.

Alternatingly charming and frightening, intelligent and foolish, Yigal organizes a rebel movement for what he sees as a coming war. To him, there is no line between religion and politics. With archival footage of Netanyahu speaking out against Rabin and the peace project, it just pushes Yigal that much closer to action. There are three women who cross paths with Yigal and have varying impacts on him. His mother convinces him he is due for greatness (again, he interprets in his own way); Nava (Daniela Kertesz) is attracted to him, but can't come to grips with his beliefs; and Margalit (Sivan Mast), who respects Yigal and understands how to lead him deeper down his chosen path.

There is a terrific scene between Yigal and his father, where the parent is emphasizing to the son he knows he's losing that only the hand of God should determine Rabin's fate ... not an idealistic young man. The Oslo II accord from 1995 leads Yigal to conclude that Rabin is a traitor, and that it's God's will for Yigal to "let him go out like a tyrant." This is all chilling to watch, and it helps us comprehend the vicious cycle of violence that plagues the Middle East. The film was Israel's official submission for Academy Award consideration.

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.

Really well done. The story is compelling and the acting is seamless and fantastic especially the lead actor. I was also impressed by the editing. They used real footage of real events and combined them into the new footage is a seamless and a very skilled fashion, impressive!

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.