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Entebbe (film)

From Alfawiki
Entebbe
Company typeFilm
IndustryMotion picture
Founded2018
FounderJosé Padilha (director), Gregory Burke (screenwriter)
ProductsFilm

Entebbe[1] (released as 7 Days in Entebbe in the United States) is a 2018 action thriller directed by José Padilha with a screenplay by Gregory Burke. The movie portrays the 1976 counter-terrorism hostage rescue mission known as the Entebbe raid, featuring performances by Rosamund Pike and Daniel Brühl.

The film premiered in the U.S. on 16 March 2018 and later in the U.K. on 11 May 2018, but it was met with predominantly unfavorable reviews from critics.

Plot

On 27 June 1976, Air France Flight 139 is hijacked during its Athens stopover by Wilfried Böse and Brigitte Kuhlmann, members of the radical left-wing Revolutionary Cells. The Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin and Defense Minister Shimon Peres, despite being political adversaries, are promptly briefed on the situation.

Following a refueling in Benghazi, the hijackers redirect the aircraft to Entebbe, Uganda, where they ally with militants from the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine. The Ugandan ruler Idi Amin lends his support to the terrorists.

Rabin assigns Peres and IDF Chief of Staff Motta Gur to devise a rescue strategy. While Peres pushes for a direct military intervention, Rabin initially opts for diplomatic negotiations with Amin. The hijackers release hostages who are not Israeli citizens but keep Israeli passengers captive. Facing mounting public pressure, Rabin consents to talks with the hijackers while secretly orchestrating a military extraction led by Lt. Col. Yonatan Netanyahu and his elite Sayeret Matkal unit.

On 3 July, Israel’s cabinet unanimously authorizes Operation Thunderbolt. Israeli commandos covertly land at Entebbe and attempt to blend in with Amin’s convoy but are compromised when an operative fires prematurely. A gun battle breaks out; Netanyahu along with terrorists Böse and Kuhlmann are killed. The unit secures the airport and successfully evacuates 102 hostages.

The narrative concludes with Peres praising Rabin, who underscores diplomacy as essential to achieving peace. Archival footage highlights survivors returning to Israel and underscores ongoing difficulties in resolving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict as of 2018.

Cast


Production

On 11 February 2016, it was revealed that director José Padilha would lead Entebbe for production companies Working Title Films and StudioCanal, based on Gregory Burke’s screenplay. By July of that year, Rosamund Pike and Daniel Brühl had been confirmed for leading roles, although Vincent Cassel eventually did not join the cast.

Filming commenced on 14 November 2016 in Malta, with additional scenes shot in the U.K. During production, an actual hijacking incident occurred at Malta International Airport coinciding with shooting schedules; footage of passengers disembarking after negotiations was integrated into the film. The production reportedly acquired an aging Pakistan International Airlines Airbus A310 for about USD 200,000 and repainted it to replicate the hijacked aircraft depicted in the story. However, a lawsuit filed in 2020 raised allegations regarding irregularities connected to this aircraft’s purchase.

A significant element of the film involves footage of the acclaimed Batsheva Dance Company performing a contemporary interpretation of the traditional Jewish song Echad Mi Yodea, which is woven throughout the storyline and associated with one of the characters.

Release

The movie made its debut on 19 February 2018 during the 68th Berlin International Film Festival. It subsequently opened in the United States on 16 March 2018, followed by its release in the United Kingdom on 11 May 2018.

Promotion

The first trailer for Entebbe appeared on 7 December 2017 and included the 1971 track "I'd Love to Change the World" by Ten Years After.

Critical reception

On Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating based on a number of reviews, with an average score reflecting mixed opinions. The site's summary notes that "7 Days in Entebbe presents an important story but falters by overlooking its most engaging aspects through a lackluster dramatization of gripping true events." According to Metacritic, it earned a weighted average of 49 out of 100 from 29 critics, signifying "mixed or average" evaluations.

David Ehrlich from IndieWire assigned the film a "C" grade, describing it as competent yet ultimately meaningless: "We end up exactly where we began, with only a brief reminder that peace requires negotiation." Richard Roeper of the Chicago Sun-Times awarded it 2 out of 4 stars, pointing out that repetitive dialogue diminishes the impact of the film’s conflicts and stakes.

Liel Leibovitz of Tablet criticized its minimization of violence, observing that the concluding raid was "depicted in aggravating slow motion and intercut with a contemporary dance sequence," which removes any sense of catharsis and reduces the film to a "hollow and superficial statement."

Historical accuracy

The timing of Yonatan Netanyahu’s death in the film occurs earlier than reported by his family. Director Padilha based this sequence on interviews with those involved in the raid. Although British historian Saul David’s 2015 book Operation Thunderbolt served as a reference, dramatic considerations took precedence over exact historical fidelity in various scenes. In particular, the depiction of how hostages were separated and the Air France crew’s involvement conflicts with eyewitness testimonies documented by David.

Soundtrack

Composed and produced entirely by Rodrigo Amarante, all music was recorded at Abbey Road Studios in London. The soundtrack was released on April 6, 2018 through Lakeshore Records, featuring 20 tracks with a total duration of 50 minutes and 46 seconds. Contributions also include Grischa Lichtenberger, The Tractor's Revenge, and Ohad Naharin.

Credits and personnel

  • Rodrigo Amarante – Composer, Arranger, Producer, Engineer, Primary Artist
  • John Bergin – Art Direction
  • Matthew Compton – Arranger
  • Eric Craig – A&R
  • Andrew Feinberg – A&R
  • Mark Graham – Conductor, Orchestration
  • Todd Dahl Hoff – Arranger, Engineer
  • Jake Jackson – Mixing
  • Lewis Jones – Engineer
  • Paul Katz – Executive Producer
  • Samur Khouja – Engineer
  • Kirsten Lane – Music Consultant
  • Brian McNelis – Executive Producer
  • David Reichardt – Engineer
  • Skip Williamson – Executive Producer

See also

External links

  1. ↑ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2123: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
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