A Short Cut Movie Review is normally less than 400 words, but in some cases may go slightly over. This is my attempt to keep writing about as many films as I see without getting bogged down with trying to find more to say. They are meant to be brief snapshots of my reaction to a movie without too much depth.
As not just a documentary filmmaker, but as a journalist,
Dror Moreh pulled off a major coup in getting six former heads of the Israeli
security agency Shin Bet to go on camera to talk about sensitive events in
Israel’s history. Apparently Ami Ayalon was the first to agree to appear and he
was instrumental in contacting the others and convincing them to participate.
This is hardly surprising to learn considering his obvious objections to some
of Israel’s policies regarding West Bank settlements and the morality of
targeting terrorists for assassination.
The inspiration Moreh took from Errol Morris’s The Fog of War is evident in the manner
of his interviews which are the result of probing questions, the carefully reflective
and highly introspective answers given by his subjects, and the intercutting of
news footage, photographs, and eerie aerial shots similar to those seen in spy
movies where an agency is targeting a terrorist. His six interviewees are not
exactly apologetic with respect to the orders gave and carried out, but they
have clearly given their actions a lot of thought in the intervening years.
Some are less apologetic than others, but all reveal the minds of philosophical
men who see the need for greater understanding if peace is to be achieved.
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