Les Patriotes (1994) - film review

Shortly after his 18th birthday, Ariel Brenner leaves his home and family in France and moves to Israel to train to be an agent for Mossad, the intelligence gathering service.  For his first assignment, Ariel returns to Paris to try to corrupt a man who is involved with the sale of atomic energy technology to the Middle East.  When this mission fails, Ariel contacts a Jewish American, Jeremy Pelman, who considers it an honour to hand over secrets to Mossad.  When Pelman is betrayed by his Israeli paymasters, Ariel becomes disillusioned with the cause he has devoted himself to.

Eric Rochant’s third full-length film is this ambitious big-budget thriller-drama which explores the morally dubious activities of the Israeli intelligence agency, Mossad, in the 1980s.  As in Rochant’s two previous films, Yvan Attal takes the leading role, giving a convincing portrayal of a young man whose idealism lures him into working for Mossad and who ends up questioning whether he has done the right thing.  It is an engaging, sometimes shocking film, but it doesn’t perhaps have the depth and impact that a serious political thriller warrants.  The film’s uncompromising depiction of Mossad’s methods – which would appear to be on a par with those of the CIA – is unlikely to curry favour with many Jewish sympathisers. The same applies to its provocative tagline: "Manipulation is our business."

© James Travers 2006

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