Instead of "rethinking its policies" or "trying to understand the terrorists", the Israeli government, as accurately portrayed in this movie, has developed a novel approach to dealing with fanatical groups that attack civilians: blow them to smithereens!!!!! A truly no-nonsense film, with some beautiful Mediterranean locations, the Little Drummer Girl does come off as somewhat cheap in the technical sense (a larger budget could've ensured some truly dazzling action scenes, and lessened the dependence on dragged-out dialogue). Still, the authentic depiction of Mossad antiterrorism techniques (surveillance, baiting, seizure, interrogation, assasination) more than compensated for the occasionally low-budget climate. The acting was excellent, and though some may feel Diane Keaton looked too old for her role (a difficult claim to dispute when viewing the Oscar winner's sex scenes), her inadequacies were well concealed by brilliant performances from Yorgo Voyagis, Eli Danker, and Klaus Kinski. One of my favorite lines in the film was when Danker's character, Litvak, asks why they can't just seal off the German town where a bomber is hiding, and Marty Kurtz (Kinski) replies "This isn't the West Bank, Shimon."
Review of The Little Drummer Girl
