The Debt (2007 film)
Encyclopedia
HaHov, HaChov, or in English, The Debt, is a 2007 Israeli drama-thriller film directed by Assaf Bernstein
and starring Gila Almagor
, Yuriy Chepurnov, and Oleg Drach, about three retired Mossad
agents confronted by a challenge from their past.
team who in 1965 captured a notorious Nazi doctor who had performed human experimentation
in an German extermination camp, and, when he escaped from them, reported him as being shot once in the head and killed during his attempted escape. In the following years, the agents received numerous accolades for their actions, with none suspecting the truth, but in the late 1990s, they learn he may be alive, repentant, and likely to expose the truth of the events.
Giora Bejach; Best Costumes, Inbal Shuki; and Best Supporting Actress, Neta Garty.
The film has had no theatrical release in United States, but a version with English subtitles has screened at film festivals there, and been shown on the Sundance cable-television channel.
A 2011 U.S. remake
of the 2007 film is entitled The Debt and stars Helen Mirren
, Sam Worthington
, Ciarán Hinds
and Tom Wilkinson
. It was directed by John Madden
from a screenplay written by Matthew Vaughn
, Jane Goldman
and Peter Straughan
. It was originally scheduled for release in December 2010, but was instead released on August 31, 2011.
Assaf Bernstein
-Life and Works:Bernstein was born July 8, 1970, in Israel.He directed the 2007 film The Debt , starring Gila Almagor, about three former Israeli Mossad agents who must confront a secret from their past. He also wrote and co-produced the film, and later helped write the 2010 U.S...
and starring Gila Almagor
Gila Almagor
Gila Almagor is an Israeli actress, film star, and author.-Biography:Gila Almagor was born four months after the death of her father, Max Alexandrowitz, a Jewish immigrant from Germany who was killed by an Arab sniper while working as a policeman in Haifa...
, Yuriy Chepurnov, and Oleg Drach, about three retired Mossad
Mossad
The Mossad , short for HaMossad leModi'in uleTafkidim Meyuchadim , is the national intelligence agency of Israel....
agents confronted by a challenge from their past.
Cast
The following are actors (and corresponding major characters):- Gila AlmagorGila AlmagorGila Almagor is an Israeli actress, film star, and author.-Biography:Gila Almagor was born four months after the death of her father, Max Alexandrowitz, a Jewish immigrant from Germany who was killed by an Arab sniper while working as a policeman in Haifa...
(as Rachel Brener) - Yuriy Chepurnov
- Oleg Drach
- Sergiy Dvoretskyy
- Neta Garty (as young Rachel Brener)
- Evgeniya Gladiy
- Reut Hajaj
- Eran Ivanir
- Aleksandr Kulish
- Yehezkel LazarovYehezkel LazarovYehezkel Lazarov is an Israeli actor, dancer and choreographer. He played in Three Mothers next to Miri Mesika and The Debt.-Biography:...
(as Ehud) - Vlad Levitskyy
- Victoria Malektorovych
- Sergei Malyuga
- Edith Naman
- Nadav Netz
- Alexander/Alex Peleg (as Zvi)
- Edgar Selge (as Max Rainer)
- Elena Sikorskaya
- Alexandra Smolyarova
- Dmitry Sova
- Viktor Stepanenko
- Sergiy Strelnikov
- Oded Teomi (as Ehud)
- Itay TiranItay TiranItay Tiran is an Israeli stage and screen actor, known for his position against Israeli settlements and for his roles in Forgiveness , Beaufort , The Debt , Homeland , Lebanon , and The Promise .Tiran is one of the most acclaimed Israeli actors of his day...
(as young Zvi) - Alon Zamek
- Arieh Adler (narrator)
Plot
The film centers on an Israeli-MossadMossad
The Mossad , short for HaMossad leModi'in uleTafkidim Meyuchadim , is the national intelligence agency of Israel....
team who in 1965 captured a notorious Nazi doctor who had performed human experimentation
Nazi human experimentation
Nazi human experimentation was a series of medical experiments on large numbers of prisoners by the Nazi German regime in its concentration camps mainly in the early 1940s, during World War II and the Holocaust. Prisoners were coerced into participating: they did not willingly volunteer and there...
in an German extermination camp, and, when he escaped from them, reported him as being shot once in the head and killed during his attempted escape. In the following years, the agents received numerous accolades for their actions, with none suspecting the truth, but in the late 1990s, they learn he may be alive, repentant, and likely to expose the truth of the events.
Cinematic history
The film was nominated for four 2007 awards by the Israeli Film Academy: Best Art Direction, Ido Dolev; Best Cinematography,Giora Bejach; Best Costumes, Inbal Shuki; and Best Supporting Actress, Neta Garty.
The film has had no theatrical release in United States, but a version with English subtitles has screened at film festivals there, and been shown on the Sundance cable-television channel.
A 2011 U.S. remake
Remake
A remake is a piece of media based primarily on an earlier work of the same medium.-Film:The term "remake" is generally used in reference to a movie which uses an earlier movie as the main source material, rather than in reference to a second, later movie based on the same source...
of the 2007 film is entitled The Debt and stars Helen Mirren
Helen Mirren
Dame Helen Mirren, DBE is an English actor. She has won an Academy Award for Best Actress, four SAG Awards, four BAFTAs, three Golden Globes, four Emmy Awards, and two Cannes Film Festival Best Actress Awards.-Early life and family:...
, Sam Worthington
Sam Worthington
Samuel Henry J. "Sam" Worthington is an English born, Australian actor. After almost a decade of roles in Australian TV shows and films, Worthington gained Hollywood's attention by playing Marcus Wright in Terminator Salvation and the lead role, Jake Sully, in James Cameron's science...
, Ciarán Hinds
Ciarán Hinds
Ciarán Hinds is an Irish film, television and stage actor. He has built up a reputation as a versatile character actor appearing in such high profile films as Road to Perdition, The Phantom of the Opera, Munich, There Will Be Blood and Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy. His television roles include...
and Tom Wilkinson
Tom Wilkinson
Thomas Geoffrey "Tom" Wilkinson, OBE is a British actor. He has twice been nominated for an Academy Award for his roles in In the Bedroom and Michael Clayton...
. It was directed by John Madden
John Madden (director)
John Philip Madden is an English director of theatre, film, television, and radio.- Biography :Madden was educated at Clifton College. He was in the same house as friend and fellow director Roger Michell. He began his career in British independent films, and graduated from the University of...
from a screenplay written by Matthew Vaughn
Matthew Vaughn
Matthew Vaughn is an English film producer and director known for producing such films as Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels and Snatch and directing the films Layer Cake , Stardust and Kick-Ass...
, Jane Goldman
Jane Goldman
Jane Lauretta Anne Goldman is an English screenwriter, author, model and television presenter. Between 2003 and 2004 she fronted her own paranormal series, Jane Goldman Investigates, on the channel Living.-Personal life:...
and Peter Straughan
Peter Straughan
Peter Straughan is a playwright and author, based in the north-east of England.Peter Straughan was the writer-in-residence at Newcastle's Live Theatre Company. Whilst there, Live staged his plays Bones and Noir...
. It was originally scheduled for release in December 2010, but was instead released on August 31, 2011.