‘Incitement’: an intense study of a twisted mind
It doesn't look as if this COVID-19 quarantine is going to end anytime soon. At least that's the impression that Gov. Inslee gave during his speech on Wednesday.
So for those of us fortunate enough to have access to homes, the Internet, some sort of screening device and good health -- none of which is a given anymore -- the opportunity to see movies is still available. And, for many of us, affordable.
Last night we watched another movie through the Vimeo-powered streaming service associated with the Magic Lantern. According to the online instructions, half of the $9.99 rental fee -- which gave me a three-day window in which to watch the film -- goes to the theater itself. And though that might not be much, it does go at least a small way toward keeping the Lantern in business.
The movie we watched: "Incitement," a 2019 Israeli film that tells the based-on-real-events story of Yigal Amir (Yehuda Nahari), the man who on Nov. 4, 1995, assassinated Israel's then-prime minister, Yitzhak Rabin.
OK, it wasn't my first choice. I would have preferred to see something lighter, or maybe action-oriented, than an intense study of a man twisted both by his religious and political convictions. I see enough of that in the daily headlines.
Yet I have to admit that the film, directed and co-written by Yaron Zilberman, is a powerful study of the kinds of motivations that drive seemingly normal people to commit acts that they see as noble, even necessary, but that most of the rest of society sees as demented and destructive.
Writer-director Zilberman undertook a difficult task, that of making Amir -- who is serving a life sentence for his crimes -- believable both as a human and as a zealot. And he succeeds, as much as is likely possible, by showing Amir's family life, his drive to be something more than just the son of Yemen-born Jewish immigrants, and his thwarted desire to marry the woman of his dreams.
None of this, of course, actually explains why he chose to pick up a Beretta pistol, wait for Rabin to emerge after a speech, and fire off three rounds, mortally wounding the prime minister. But it comes close.
Anyway, "Incitement" is only one of several films that you can stream through the Magic Lantern. I'll certainly be checking out some others.
Though next time I might opt for something just a slight bit lighter in theme and tone.
