Ben-Gurion, Epilogue

Based on six hours of recently discovered film, this feature not only restricts itself to a fraction of the material (understandably) but also breaks it up and contextualizes it with earlier and later footage, so that viewing the movie is not a chore. The filmmakers seem to have been particularly interested in making sure no one misses the point that Ben Gurion believed that Gaza and the West Bank (except Jerusalem) were not too high a price to pay for peace. It's a little strange that so much (including the core interview) is in English, but although Ben Gurion claimed he found English difficult, he has no trouble expressing himself. The interviewer, Clinton Bailey, knows what he's doing (and indeed he turned out to be destined for bigger things). It is certainly to be hoped that the full six-hour interview will become available, perhaps as a book.

At a time when peace or at least co-existence near our neighbors seems as remote as ever and when the level of confidence in the political class seems to be at a historical low, it's quite comforting for us, Israelis, to remember the times when the Prime Minister was a national hero, a man of vision, a person of unprecedented modesty who chose to quit politics and spend the last decade of his life as a member of a kibbutz, living a simple life, engaging in manual labor, working and living together with his neighbors and comrades. True, he had his political enemies also, and he was not exempt of controversies, but controversy is a way of life for Jews in general and Israelis in particular. The opportunity for these thoughts was provided by the documentary film Ben-Gurion, Epilogue which was co-produced (among other) and broadcast by ARTE TV and the Israeli Channel 8 stations, and screened in Israel and at festivals around the world. The film is based on the editing of about one hour worth out of several hours of a filmed interview given by the former Israeli prime minister David Ben-Gurion in the spring of 1968, several years after retiring from politics.

It is interesting to judge the portrait that is convened by this film from two points of view. One is the persona. While Ben-Gurion was a very visible public figure and a popular one in the decades before and after the making of Israel, there are less and less people alive who knew him. We are now left with written testimonies and with this kind of films. From this interview he appears as an individual of great intelligence and modesty at the same time, a man who was both aware and proud of his role in history and at the same time humbled to have been instrumental in the important events he was part of. Then it's the political dimension. The Ben-Gurion who talks to us from the recovered filmed interviews was not only a man of vision but also a pragmatic moderate in policies. He provides his views on controversial issues related to the attitude of the allies to the Holocaust that was happening during WWII and the reconciliation with Germany that had happened after the war, about the victory in the Six Days War and the consequences of Israel having won the war and occupied so many territories. For the Israeli audiences there are no astonishing news, the fact that Ben-Gurion would have preferred to negotiate the majority of territories for peace is known for decades, but this position is very well articulated in the film and so actual in the present we live in today.

There are no very tough questions asked, and there is an attitude of deep respect from the young journalist to the old statesman which is never left during the discussion. We still learn a lot about the man, his life, his passions, his positions on important issues, and much of these still resonate. The discovery of the film (with no sound) and of the tapes of the interview (with no image) and the way they were brought together are an interesting story by itself, and the 'the making of ...' documentary is worth watching as well. More film material taken from newsreels and other interviews were added in order to put the exact moment the interview was given (less than one year after the 1967 victory of Israel in the Six Days War) and the personality of David Ben-Gurion in their historical contexts. The title of the film is a little misleading, as Ben-Gurion does not take a 'testamentary' approach at any point, seems to be in good physical form and had a lot of plans among which writing his memoirs. He unfortunately did not complete these and I wonder if notes of fragments are available. He lived for another five years and even gave more interviews later. This film is an important testimony of his personality and positions after retiring, but the epilogue may still wait to be written.

"Ben-Gurion, Epilogue" (2016 release from Israel; 70 min.) is a fascinating documentary about Israel's founding father. Prior to the showing of this film (more on that later), Israeli film expert Galit Roichman explained that the documentary makers, while researching material for another film, by happenstance stumbled upon 35 mm reels of a 1968 interview of David Ben-Gurion. However, the sound tapes were missing, and were finally discovered after a long search. Carefully blending sound and images, and adding some further context, the documentary makers finally released this in 2016.

What we end up seeing here is an all-too brief glimpse into Ben-Gurion, interviewed for 6 hrs. in 1968, 5 years after he abruptly resigns and withdraws from Israeli politics and just 4 months after his beloved wife Paula had passed away. At that point, Ben-Gruion lived in the Negev, a barren desert in southern Italy where life was on its own clock (case in point: when the first telephone wires were installed). The interviewer, Clinton Bailey, does not shy away from anything, yet is very respectful in posing the more difficult questions to Ben-Gurion (case in point: the controversial reparation talks with West-Germany in the late 40s). But in the end we marvel at the political savvy and genius that is Ben-Gurion, not to mention utterly down to earth (case in point: doing his daily chores in the Sde Boker kibbutz like everyone else). A sizable chunk of the interview focuses on Ben-Gurion's views on Zionism (and why he claims that he didn't become a Zionist until the mid-1950s). The archive footage of what living in the Negev was like in the late 70s only adds to the intrigue (if that is the right word). Given that there was 6 hours of interview footage, it's a bit surprising that this documentary only lasts 1 hr. and 10 min. but other than that, there is very little to complain about.

I recently saw this film at the 2018 Jewish & Israeli Film Festival here in Cincinnati. The large theater where this was showing was almost a sell-out. The festival's flyer indicates that the film won the 2017 Best Documentary Award of the Israeli Academy, and I can easily see why. If you have an interest in learning more about one of the great political leaders of the 20th century, you won't want to miss this if you have a chance to see it. "Ben-Gurion, Epilogue" is a WINNER.