There are several moments in the film which will remind you of other famous films. Irrespective of the historical accuracy of the events around this voluntary signature, I found this part of the film rather insipid. I, for one, found it extremely difficult to believe that the most notorious, ruthless, cold blooded and level-headed Nazi leader would sign his own death wish so easily, merely because Malkin is a smooth talker and has appealed to his humanity. Notwithstanding the fact that Malkin is shown to do this while constantly fighting back a seething urge to avenge the merciless deaths of his sister and her children, it is the events of this second half whose credibility comes under serious doubt. While the first half of the 120-minute film is set up brilliantly and due time is devoted to portraying how a chance encounter between a young man and a girl leads to the startling discovery of the fact that Eichmann is hiding in Argentina, the second is spent in Malkin trying to talk Eichmann into signing a declaration that he is willing to come to Jerusalem of his own accord. Oscar Isaac, Ben Kingsley in a still from Operation Finale
Operation finale trial#
Malkin and his team’s job is to locate, capture and successfully extract Eichmann from Buenos Aires - all without raising the suspicion of the Argentinian government, which is known to turn down formal extradition requests - so that he can be brought to the courts in Jerusalem to stand trial for his crimes during the war. Eichmann, known as the architect of ‘The Final Solution’, planned and implemented the successful transportation and subsequent systematic execution of over six million Jews during World War II.
Malkin is also fighting his own demons - the haunting memories of a sister and her three beautiful children who were intercepted in the middle of the woods by Nazi soldiers and brutally tortured and killed.
The team itself is led by agent Peter Malkin (Oscar Isaac), who has been out of action for some time after the debacle in Austria. The film centres around a dangerous extraction attempt by a team of Mossad secret agents, who travel all the way from Jerusalem to Buenos Aires, upon receiving a tip that the notorious Nazi war criminal Adolf Eichmann (Ben Kingsley) is hiding there as a commoner. It reminds us that no matter whose blood is shed, it is always shed at a cost.
It is this opening sequence that sets the tone for the rest of the film - reminding us that in war, both victor and vanquished suffer collateral damage. Disguised as military officers, a team of Israeli Nazi hunter spies call upon a former officer of the SS who is currently in hiding, and shoot him down on his lawn, only to realise that he was not the man they were looking for. It’s Christmas eve, somewhere in Austria. Director Chris Weitz’s latest film - Operation Finale - opens with a sharply written scene.
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