The Debt (2007) User Reviews

Tense Israeli thriller that is about to be remade in Hollywood.

[t-dooley-69-386916 · 8/10 · 1 June 2011]

This is a sort of re-release (on DVD as of May 2011) of an Israeli film made originally in 2007. It has garnered new attention as it is has been remade in America and will star Helen Mirren in the fall as Americans say. It tells the story of three Mossad agents who in 1964, are sent on a mission to capture 'The Surgeon of Birkenau'. He is currently practising as a gynaecologist in Berlin, and is wanted for monstrous experimental operations on Jews during WWII (that is why there is a big Swastika on the front).

The film starts in 2007 when Gila Almagor as Rachel Brener is publishing her account of their mission and is being lauded as a National heroine for her part in bringing Nazis to justice. However, it is all a whopping big lie. Told in flashback we see what really occurred back in 1964 and how despite capturing 'The Surgeon' Max Rainer (Edgar Selge); he manages to play mind games and sow confusion leading to his escape.

They decide that he will now go underground and they may as well say they killed him and got rid of the body. The snag comes when a senile old man in a retirement home in the Ukraine confesses that he is 'The Surgeon of Birkenau' and it gets into the papers. The three agents decide it is time to finish what they should have done over forty years ago.

This is a very well acted and scripted piece of cinema, and I laud Israel for continuing to make good films on limited budgets like 'The Bubble' etc. Also there is no recreation of Birkenau or flash backs to the war, so the Swastika on the artwork is slightly misleading. This is instead a tense thriller that really does carry you along. It did not get much of an airing on first release, so hopefully, with the renewed interest; it may get the attention it deserves.

In Hebrew with some German and Russian the sub titles are fairly accurate (the German and Russian anyway as my Hebrew is non existent) with a run time of just over 90 minutes, this is one you should see before it gets the Hollywood treatment.

Thrilling near Historical Drama.

[shmulik-cohen · 7/10 · 11 December 2007]

Enjoyable Drama that hints to History. In the 60's Nazi's were hunted and Adolph Eichman was brought to Trial and hanged in Israel. Simalrly we see a Group of Young Mossad Agents sent to find the Doctor of Birkenau Aushwitz (Not Treblinka as someone mistakenly wrote) Reminds us of the likes of Josef Mengele. "Rachel Brenner" was one of these Agents in the 1960's who many years later goes again to find Max Reiner. Both Gila Almagor and Neta Garty do the Best parts in this Movie. Neta as the young Rachel and Gila in the present. Another point is how a story is kept secret for so many years. I wondered what other Secret Service stories Mossad or other we do not know about?

Solid, intelligent, but the rare case where I preferred the re-make

[runamokprods · 7/10 · 21 October 2013]

The basis for the 2010 Hollywood remake, this is an intelligent and clever spy thriller, with interesting moral overtones. However, as rarely happens I personally slightly preferred the re- make.

I don't know if it was the acting, the writing or the directorial style, but for whatever reason I found myself both more moved and more chilled by the re-make. To be fair, that could be because I saw the re-make first, so knew the story, but this isn't really based on shocking twists, so I think the newer film simply worked better for me. In particular I found Helen Mirren more affecting than her Israeli counterpart, Gila Almagor.

That said, this is still a strong film, and there are a couple of very powerful scenes between the agents and their Nazi prey that beat out their counterparts in the re-make.. Worth seeing if you're into films enough that seeing two different versions of a good story is fun, not a chore.

'You Jews only know how to die, you don't know how to kill.' : The Surgeon of Birkenau

[gradyharp · 18 September 2011]

This 2007 original version of the film currently in the theaters with an entirely new cast and crew and know as THE DEBT is the version written by Ido Rubenstien and writer/director Assaf Bernstein: their story and screen play were the nidus for the current version. This version HA HOV is in Hebrew and German with English subtitles and because this viewer has not seen the current THE DEBT in the theaters it is difficult to compare the two. That really is not a significant matter as HA HOV stands solidly on its own as a brilliant film.

The film opens at a gala party in Israel where Rachel Brenner (Gila Almagor) is being honored again for her role in ending the life of the infamous 'surgeon of Birkenau' who during WW II did heinous experiments on human beings in the camps of Birkinau, including being responsible for the death of Rachel's mother. But news arrives that at all old folks home in the Ukraine that the surgeon is still alive: the three Mossad agents (Rachel - played at the young age by Neta Garty, Zvi - Itay Tiran, and Ehud - Oded Teomi) in 1965, Mossad agents sent to capture the surgeon erroneously allowed him to escape and promising to keep their secret, told the papers that he committed suicide. Rachel, Zvi and Ehud decide they must complete their broken mission and go to the Ukraine, fine the surgeon and kill him. Zvi and Ehud are not up to the task, so it is left to Rachel to finish their mission. The suspenseful hunt and chase is how the mission is accomplished.

The manner in which the film is set into motion is a seamless interchange of the years 1944 during the war and the black and white images of the concentration camps, and 1965 when the three young Mossad agents captured the surgeon (and their interaction with him before his escape) and the present when the now 60ish Rachel carries out her duty. It is chilling, rich in character development, and maintains a degree of tension that is almost unbearable at times. But the other aspect of this film that keeps it form being yet another memoir of the mistreatment of the Jews in WW II is the element of humanity in each of the three Mossad agents as they deal with their task and yet interact with the evil and warped surgeon. This is a very strong film, one that deserves an audience at least equal to those who have seen or will see THE DEBT.

Grady Harp

Very well done ........

[redwards-81247 · 7/10 · 17 July 2018]

Very good story line and this says something about human nature. The bottom line is do not lie and your conscious can stay healthy or clean. The romance between the three threw me off a little as the female mossad agent was portrayed as loose ie sleeps around which is not what these types of individuals usually do ie their mental makeup is stronger. Yes people fall in love, but typically not under these circumstances. The end was a little hurried and confusing as the doctor was found but more by chance than any under cover work.

Seek this Out == Skip the Sleek Hollywood Make-over

[vitaleralphlouis · 7/10 · 24 August 2011]

The AVALON Theatre in Washington, DC has moderately successful screenings of Israeli films one night a month. We chose THE DEBT to try it out. Not this time, the movie packed the house and we only beat the inevitable turn-away by skipping the ticket line and buying tickets in their cafe / refreshment counter.

The turnout was well deserved, as THE DEBT was well worth out drive across town to see. Tight and suspenseful, it was solid where the big budget holocaust films usually bog down in sludge-style propaganda.

This movie excels in its down-to-earth earnest telling of the story, and the Nazi has ample time to tell "his side." Respectful silence from the presumed mostly Jewish audience indicates how they were wrapped up in the story; their story; but with a few moments of outward approval.

Perhaps I ought put a sock in it, but people do that too often. The Jews make much of their vow "NEVER AGAIN" and I have no doubt the Jews in Israel mean it. But what about the American Jews in this audience? No doubt most voted for Obama, America's most anti-Israel president, and will likely vote for him again in 2012. Israeli freedom be damned -- if it means questioning their self-destructive liberal causes. People like me offer Israel rock-solid support; but American Jews have little use for us. Go figure!

Like many movies, the original is better than the remake

[lazygafiltafish · 7/10 · 20 April 2020]

I've seen the American version a couple of times and thought it was okay....not bad, not great, just okay. I decided to watch the Israeli version to see how different it would be or if it would be better. It definitely was better, but could have been a better movie overall (I feel like both versions needed like an additional 15-30 minutes because they didn't flow well. While the acting was good in both, I felt it was more believable in the original most likely because the actors were all actually Israeli. The performances just felt more genuine and less Hollywood.

Anyway here are differences (I'm using American names for all): Change- In the Israeli movie, Rachel never made an error when she drugged the Nazi MD, and there were no subway scenes either. It was less suspenseful (Americans want their suspense). The mission failed due to there being some holdup with Mossad, with Rachel dropping the razor blade in the bathroom (which of course the Nazi picked up and escaped).

Change- Israeli version has Stefan and Rachel meeting up 30 years later in Kiev to both kill Nazi after both are in touch with David to finish the job (David is the one in the wheelchair NOT Stefan in Israeli movie). Stefan seems to have guilt over the failed mission and gets scared and commits suicide. American version has David committing suicide allegedly (I think it was just an accident tbh) over wanting to share the truth. In the Israeli version there was no "We should share the truth" dilemma, rather it was just "finish the job".

Change-American version did a really bad job with this part. Rachel kills Nazi in a nursing home, but first leaves a letter for the journalist to report the truth of what really happened. I also wasn't clear if she ended up dying with Nazi. In the Israeli version, the Nazi looks to be the same exact age as her, but she away with very few injuries which is how the movie ended (I thought it was a better ending because to me it was needed closure for her, whereas in the American one Stefan pressures her to doing it).

Change- Again American version was weak with this not explaining how or why a patient with dementia was claiming to be the Nazi MD. In Israeli version they make it clear that the Nazi MD was friends with the patient before he became senile confessing to him what he did.

Change- Rachel and Stefan hook up in the American movie since David turned her down. She ends up knocked up and marries Stefan. This wasn't important in the movie.. In the Israeli version, David (using the American names here) does turn her down, but she does actually seem to like Stefan. There is no pregnancy and no marriage.

Change-With the exception of Rachel, the 2 male characters are a bit different. I felt like in the American version they made David out to be a nice guy who had a tortured soul, while Stefan was more of the "bad boy" (again American audiences seem to like this formula). In the Israeli version, both seem to be on the same playing field, but David is actually a bit more aggressive than Stefan.

Enjoyable thriller

[johnnygs · 8/10 · 11 December 2019]

Another excellent Israeli movie that I quite enjoyed. Was remade a few years later in Hollywood but I still prefer this version. Great movie

Not convincing - Overly emotional actors

[boaz-11 · 5/10 · 16 April 2014]

People have different tastes; some go on the emotional side, and some on the rational side. I guess I'm in the latter, but this movie was made for the former crowd. The actors playing the roles of Mossad agents spend most of the time expressing their emotions "Hollywood style", instead of acting as cool headed trained agents. The actual details of the plot are often not very convincing. Like: Why is such an important operation is handled by only three agents? And when they catch the Nazi guy, they tie him with some piece of rope on the floor, and make sure they shave him every day? And why only one agent is watching him -- what do the other two do meanwhile? And why does a gynecologist need to poke a woman three times in her private part? And if he lived in a suburb of (West) Berlin (in 1964, which was surrounded by East German territory), why do they need a party at the Israeli embassy (which was in Bonn then)? And why do secret agents get such a public welcome reception upon their return?

As Arte Johnson used to say, Ver-r-ry inter-resting... but shtoopid

[Nozz · 22 October 2011]

Any faithful Israeli moviegoer could have recommended better films for Hollywood to remake. This one was not particularly successful in its home country, but evidently Hollywood likes the idea of Israeli secret agents who are conflicted and vulnerable. Various details here are quite unbelievable: an Israeli secret agent who travels on an assassination mission with an Israeli passport, another who when attacked can think of no better countermove than jumping onto her opponent piggyback, and a straight razor casually in use for everyday shaving in 1964. The movie gets off to a bumpy start with some overly quick and contrived exposition, but it hits its pace when Gila Almagor, one of Israel's most respected veteran actresses, starts doing her stuff. She is joined by equally strong male veterans in small roles, but in the flashbacks to their younger selves the film doesn't hold attention as well, particularly since the two young male actors are not easy to tell apart and maybe because the youngsters need to act in other than their native language. The story is not true, but it recalls a bungled operation in 1973, known as the Lillehammer affair, which we like to think of as an anomaly. In THE DEBT, there is no indication that these half-hearted blunderers aren't your typical Israeli agents.

Unbelievable!

[newjersian · 1/10 · 1 March 2020]

This is the most ridiculous movie I ever saw. The Israeli part is OK but the German and the Ukrainian parts are so amateurishly made that it makes them unwatchable. Especially, the final scene in the men restroom is rather comic. It resembles the Hollywood horror parodies, and not the good ones. The elderly actress playing the supposed killer doesn't match the role. How could anyone send her to Ukraine on a mission with her heavy Israeli accent in Russian language? The movie is just stupid.