RED SEA DIVING RESORT
(directed by Gideon Raff, 2019)
***+ (out of 5)
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> This title is a solid action flick based on real, and dramatic events.
. No one knows for sure the origins of the Black Jewish population in Ethiopia, but it is agreed they are the real deal. This geographical offshoot (which came to be called “Beta Israel”), might have slightly different cultural customs, but they are certainly Jewish people. In the 1970’s, conditions in their African homeland began to become gradually more intolerable, as a mix of economic, political and environmental factors placed the community under enormous stress. They found themselves on the wrong side of civil war, famine and ethnic cleansing. And Israel came to their rescue.
. “Operation Brothers” was only the first of three major efforts, saving roughly 8000 refugees from probable genocide, between 1979 and 1984, by smuggling them out by sea, via neighboring Sudan. It was an inspired ruse: Mossad could use black budget Israeli money to buy the ‘Arous Holiday Village’, an abandoned Italian resort on the shores of the Red Sea, transform it into a fake hotel and use it as cover, to spirit this lost tribe of Israel to their new Jewish homeland.
. Nothing too deep here, it’s a straightforward tale of nail-biting heroism- another “white savior” flick. In the real events, the Ethiopian rebels played a major role. Here, it’s the pretty white folk’s story. (Are all Israeli intelligence agents this beautiful?) Ironically, this population of Beta Israelis- once made so welcome in the state of Israel, struggle to this day to make a home of their new country. They complain of being ostracized for their differing customs (no circumcision, for one), and, sadly, for the color of their skin. Israel did a wonderful thing by welcoming these people in- but it helped expose the racist underbelly of a nearly homogenous culture. Wherever you have a large majority of whiteness- you have racism. But if the viewer does not let these realities cloud the film experience, this is a bang-up thriller! It has it all: good, if flawed people to root for, and nasty bad guys who ooze menace. The capable cast features Chris Evans, Ben Kingsley, Greg Kinnear, and comely Haley Bennett- her bulging breasts demanding your attention! (Awfully sexy for an undercover agent in a Muslim country.) It’s excellently paced and packed with tense close calls. But ultimately, RED SEA DIVING RESORT is a feel-good movie. It feels good to do the right thing, or to watch people doing it, under life-threatening conditions.
– And nothing is more giddy than the liberating flush of freedom, long denied.
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