Matrixiole Simple and well acted, it has tension enough to knot the stomach.

FuzzyTagz If the ambition is to provide two hours of instantly forgettable, popcorn-munching escapism, it succeeds.

ThedevilChoose When a movie has you begging for it to end not even half way through it's pure crap. We've all seen this movie and this characters millions of times, nothing new in it. Don't waste your time.

Tayyab Torres Strong acting helps the film overcome an uncertain premise and create characters that hold our attention absolutely.

redwards-81247 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.

gradyharp 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

vitaleralphlouis 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!

Tom Dooley 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.