The Israeli prime minister Golda Meir during the intense circumstances of the so-called Yom Kippur War is shown in the new film Golda.
She was a woman coping with many guys as well as a perilous time. These scenarios have a lot of potential for drama, but the film never explores it.
Golda Meir was chosen to serve as the country’s leader during a tumultuous period as a sort of temporary prime minister.
Israel was invaded in 1973 from two directions: from the northeast across the Golan Heights by Syria, and from the southwest across the Suez Canal by Egypt.
The movie, however, has a druggy feeling to it despite the threat and thrill of the circumstance as well as the fact that Golda Meir was the first woman to lead the Israeli government. The dialogue is understated and spoken in bland, matter-of-fact tones.
Helen Mirren, one of the best actors in the world, plays Golda. She has been done up to resemble Golda Meir, a grandmother dressed in dowdy attire and wearing lace-up, black shoes with a tiny heel.
Meir, who was 70 at the time, was ill and receiving radiation treatments in secret for lymphoma. She also consumes enormous amounts of black coffee and smokes continuously.
Even though Meir spoke in boring tones throughout these turbulent three weeks of the so-called Yom Kippur War, genuine newsreel snippets in the film imply a woman of keen but disarming wit, and a movie about her deserves more intensity and dimension than this picture provides. In contrast, even without including any fighting sequences, the numerous recent movies depicting Winston Churchill guiding England through World War II pulsate with the peril of the times.
There are no fighting scenes in Guy Nattiv’s Golda, either, although Meir does listen to the frantic messages of soldiers in distress. However, the narrative has a compelling dramatic quality. There was the two-pronged surprise attack that occurred as Jews began the revered and reflective holiday of Yom Kippur.
The Syrian and Egyptian troops pushed forward, surprising the military. Moshe Dayan, a prominent military figure in Israel, is depicted in the movie as feeling confused and overpowered. Various generals were debating tactics.
The shallowness of the Meir persona, however, doesn’t produce dramatic moments, nor do slow images of Meir alone in her small apartment or wandering down lonely hallways to her medical appointments.
The Churchill movies, starring John Lithgow or Gary Oldman, depict a grumpy, complex character who battles his inner demons, his wife, and others around him while experiencing frightening events like the British army’s escape from Dunkirk.
In this film, Golda Meir comes out as being unflappable to a fault. She does not become animated.
She maintains her composure. She never experiences hesitation or dread. She may be steely, but if that’s the only note she plays without any other contrast, the drama won’t last.
Israel had more friends around the world during Golda Meir’s premiership than it has today. It was still seen as a small, brave, and somewhat romantic nation.
However, the debate and protest surrounding Israel’s treatment of Palestinians have intensified recently. So why does the Palestinian issue not come up in the movie about this Israeli heroine? Films about the past almost invariably also focus on the present.
The movie, according to director Guy Nattiv, paints a picture of the kind of responsible leadership that the nation lacks under its current administration. Maybe, but drama is still needed in Golda for the story to matter.
Golda Meir was raised in Milwaukee despite being born in Kiev. After that, she relocated to Denver and attended North High School. Her residence is presently located on the Auraria Campus.
