“Rabin – In his own Words” – Our great loss [MOVIE REVIEW]
Photo courtesy of Menemsha Films
“Rabin – In his own Words,” directed by Erez Laufer is, in its own way an autobiography of the great Israeli statesman Yizhak Rabin. Doing what he does best, editing, Laufer presents Rabin through archival interviews, news footage and home movies.
For most people, myself included, Rabin is a something of a forgotten memory. “Rabin – in his own Words” is a sad reminder that sometimes the most dangerous terrorists are homegrown – much like the young Orthodox Jew who assassinated him. But it is Laufer’s intention to celebrate Rabin’s life, allowing Rabin to tell his own story.
And what an exciting and amazing story it was. Born in Jerusalem and raised in Tel Aviv, Rabin had an interest in farming the land and studied to be an irrigation engineer. Granted a scholarship to UC Berkley, he chose instead to remain in Palestine and fight for independence. And it is at this juncture that his career took an unexpected turn, or at least it was unexpected as far as he was concerned. He instead joined the Haganah, the underground army. It was Moshe Dayan who taught him to fire a machine gun. His career path in the military was set and he eventually rose to chief of staff of the Israeli Defense Force.
Photo courtesy of Menemsha Films
Listening to Rabin recount his early life, one would get the impression that he was an accidental politician but that would be somewhat disingenuous as everything he did in life led to the next step, steps that had an aura of predestination.
It was Rabin who recognized that encroachment into the Occupied Territories would ultimately create an Apartheid state diminishing the rights of Palestinians and creating a situation that would cause great damage to both sides. Only peace in the Middle East would lessen the hostilities and the only way to obtain that was to have meaningful negotiations with their enemies; there is little need to negotiate with one’s friends. It was for the genuine strides he made in the process that he was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1994, shared with Shimon Peres and Yasser Arafat. The twenty-three years since the signing of the Oslo Accords and most of the important work Rabin accomplished has been undone by the right wing government. His prediction of an Apartheid state has come true and Hope no longer springs eternal.
But listen to the story from Rabin himself and not from me because he definitely tells it best. It would be difficult to find a better soldier, statesman, husband, father… man.
Opening Friday May 6 at the Laemmle Royal.