Rabin, the Last Day

Israeli Prime Minister Yitzchak Rabin earned both admiration and criticism for his active commitment to the peace process in the Middle East, for which he was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1994 together with Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat. He was murdered by a Jewish religious fanatic in 1995. Amos Gitai was deeply affected by Rabin's death and dealt with it as early as 1996 in the poignant documentary The Arena of Murder. Twenty years later, he returned to the painful subject with a multi-layered mix of re-enactment and archive footage, accusing extremists in politics and religion of creating an atmosphere of hatred that led to Rabin's death. Gitai's orchestration of the multiple storylines and different formal approaches is more than impressive: from the classic Costa-Gavras style political thriller to the free-floating political rage à la Godard. (Jurij Meden)

Photo: Austrian Film Museum