'Rabin, the Last Day' would be better without stiff reenactments
'Rabin' is a documentary about the events surrounding the assassination of Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin 20 years ago. With material this powerful, the audience shouldn't be attempting to figure out what's real and what's staged.
Scene from 'Rabin, The Last Day'
Courtesy of Kino Lorber Inc.
Amos Gitai’s “Rabin, the Last Day” is a 153-minute documentary about the events surrounding the assassination 20 years ago, by an extremist Israeli lone gunman, of Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin. We see contemporary interviews with, among others, Shimon Peres, who was foreign minister in Rabin’s Labor government, and clips from the massive peace rally during which the assassination took place.
The entire effect, for me, was undercut by Gitai’s heavy reliance on reenactments, often stiffly acted. With material this powerful, we shouldn’t have to continually be puzzling out what’s real and what’s staged. Grade: B- (This film is not rated.)