There are so many powerful and amazing stories throughout history that when handled right become amazing films. I prefer ones that are lesser known and offer up those unbelievable directions that changed things in the course of history. The latest I had been seeing the trailers for was Operation Finale starring Oscar Isaac, Sir Ben Kingsley and Nick Kroll with Twilight: New Moon director Chris Weitz at the helm, but does it offer up something to help elevate this emotional story or will it be a botched mission?

 

Operation Finale follows the true story of the 1960 covert mission of legendary Mossad agent Peter Malkin as he infiltrates Argentina and captures Adolf Eichmann, the Nazi officer who masterminded the transportation logistics that brought millions of innocent Jews to their deaths in concentration camps. I have to be honest and say that I wasn't overly excited about going to see this film, but knew I wanted to see it because I love movies based on true stories. They always provide the audience with an opportunity to learn something new.  This was a story that I vaguely remember hearing about but never knew the details of, and it absolutely blew me away.  The movie was very touching, sad and amazing!

 

One of the most amazing things were the outstanding performances by Sir Ben Kingsley and Oscar Isaac.  Ben Kingsley plays the Nazi lieutenant Adolph Eichmann. His performance is so mesmerizing that there were times that I started to feel real empathy for him and then in the blink of an eye, I'm disgusted by his crimes.  Oscar Isaac did a great job, in what I found to be a very interesting performance.  He doesn't have a ton of lines at the beginning, but there is so much that he does with simple facial expressions and gestures. Once he does get to some dialog portions of the movie, his delivery is so sad and haunted.

 

I also want to give props to one "random guy" near the end of the film who is not a main character nor has anything to do with what is happening.  But he is just there when a major thing goes down and you see him react and wonder 'who is this guy'.  Then a few minutes later we see he has numbers tattooed on his arm and the weight hits you as you realize how important this mission was to the people of Israel.

 

Another beautiful thing about the film was the clothing and attention to detail of the time period.  I love taking that step back into history with sets, decor and clothing...so good!  The other character that you will notice is the thrilling and sometimes haunting musical score that beautifully bring to life so many intense moments. These are moments of big sound and of purposeful silence; please be sure to listen as you watch.

 

I don't want to spoil the movie or give anything away - you just need to make time to see it.  I think it's an important look back at history.  And nothing can lead us to a better future like avoiding the mistakes and tragedies of the past.