Based on true events which took place in 1976, 7 Days in Entebbe is a trip back in time, with bated-breath moments of terrified hostages, guns pointed at them with the threat of death a real possibility.
Two Palestinians, part of the Liberation of Palestine group, Brigitte Kuhlmann (played by Rosamund Pike) and Wilfried Böse (Daniel Bruhl), hijack Air France Flight 139 which is Paris-bound from Tel Aviv. The unfortunate 248 passengers are taken hostage by four terrorists. Most of the passengers are Israeli and Jewish. The word “Entebbe” refers to the Entebbe Airport in Uganda where tyrant Idi Amin has a place ready for the hostages. A ransom request is then sent out at this nerve-racking point in the story.
Would a rescue mission work? Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin has a choice to make. Not only is the movie about the rescue team and their plan, but it features heroic acts of other characters, including the plane’s captain, who believes he and his crew should stay to the end, even as some hostages are released. And a nun is willing to trade places with a hostage. The viewer can’t help but wonder how he/she would react if placed in the same position.
It is unfortunate that the movie misses receiving our coveted Dove Seal, though not by much. But with the violence level considered and the utterance of the F-bomb, it falls short. The story itself is presented realistically and, as far as I know, pretty accurately as to the true-life events.
