Golda (#456)

Today, I learned, is National Movie Day, when all movie theaters charge only $4.00.  Which is why I went yesterday, to avoid the potential crowds of people who have never gone to the movies before.  And I saw GOLDA, the supposed true story of Israeli prime minister Golda Meir and events leading up to and the end of the Yom Kippur war of 1973, which pitted Israel against the combined overwhelming forces of Egypt and Syria.  I say supposed because in made for the movie real life stories, they aren’t always accurate, and I am not very familiar with the actual events.  Helen Mirren, heavily made up, does a credible job of portraying the title character, who should have been dubbed The Iron Lady instead of Margaret Thatcher because she is depicted as one tough lady as she makes tough military decision for her chiefs like eye patched Moishe Dayan and General Sharon, who later became Israel’s prime minister. And Mirren must have gone through a carton of cigarettes during the film, even smoking as she is being examined by her doctors.  It’s an interesting film, and not too long, and even though it is a movie about war, there are no battlefield scenes.  Liv Schreiber expertly plays Henry Kissinger, but his voice isn’t deep enough, and Golda demands and gets a proper agreement to end the war.  Critics weren’t overwhelmed with this one with only a 52%  thumbs up but 93% of audiences liked it.