Coluna Claquete – June 27th, 2016 – Movie of the Week: “Eye in the Sky”
Newton Ramalho
colunaclaquete@gmail.com – www.colunaclaquete.blogspot.com– @colunaclaquete
Movie of the Week: “Eye in the Sky”
Every day we see on TV and newspaper some news about the fight against the terrorists of the different factions, without having the slightest idea of what or how these actions actually happen. A film brings to us the complexity of these operations, and the risks involved – most often to innocent people. The film is “Eye in the Sky”, directed by Gavin Hood.
It is curious how many people have no notion at all about the fight against terrorists, and some even ask “why not just throw an atomic bomb and kill all at once?”. The truth is that the extremists are a dangerous minority infiltrated in countries full of innocent people, which have no connection with terror, and are used as human shields.
In the film we see an operation in Kenya to capture three extremists, a British and two Americans, who joined the dangerous terrorist group al-Shabab.The occasion proves to be extremely fortuitous, because after years of research, is the first time that the three of them are under the possibility of being arrested.
The operation is quite complex, being coordinated by the British Colonel Katherine Powell (Helen Mirren), under the supervision of his superior, General Frank Benson (Alan Rickman), dealing whith Defense Minister, the Attorney General and other authorities .
The operation has American support, with a team in Hawaii working with target recognition, and a crew piloting a drone, from a base in Nevada. The direct action will be conducted by Kenyan army, while some field agents make the close surveillance.
The difficulties start to arise when identities are revealed, and the purpose of the meeting is defined. What should be a capture operation becomes a mission of execution. The citizenship of the targets, as well as the possibility of loss of innocent lives triggers a frantic communication between authorities of three countries, because the desire to eliminate dangerous enemies shocks against ethics.
In addition to bringing the discussion of this dilemma, the film was extremely well built, bringing a level of tension that rises over time, and that, unlike the action movies, is not resolved with the fists of an invincible hero.
The characters who symbolize the greatest risk are Alia (Aisha Takow), a girl who sells bread in the street, and the Kenyan agent Jama Farah (Barkhad Abdi), which uses all his power of improvisation to complete the mission satisfactorily.
Helen Mirren, efficient as always, is who leads the story, her character ordering, begging, cajoling and blackmailing to achieve her goals. Alan Rickman, in his latest work in life, works magnificently until the end, totally free of his most famous character, Professor Snape, in the Harry Potter saga.
Unlike films like “The Hurt Locker” and “American Sniper,” “Eye in the Sky” show different situations of an obscure war, where people in friendly countries come to be seen as objects in a statistical decision, and the most important damage seems not to be a lost human life, but the effect of a video on Youtube.
As the message we see in the beginning of the movie, in a war the first victim is the truth. I recommend this film to everybody, not just for being a well done movie, but for raising an important discussion about what may or may not be done in the name of combating terrorism.
Original title: “Eye in the Sky”