Golda

The “fog of war” evoked by Prussian general von Clausewitz and referenced in the title of the well-known documentary about ex-US Secretary of State Robert McNamara, becomes the “smoke of war” in this meticulous reconstruction of the Yom Kippur War in October 1973 from the perspective of Golda Meir, Israel’s fourth prime minister and the first woman to hold the post, Labour party member and chain smoker. Smoke envelops her constantly, seemingly bringing the acrid smell of the off-screen battle between the Israeli, Egyptian and Syrian forces straight into the offices and war room where Meir discusses and directs military strategy; and into the enquiry commission where she would account for decisions that led to victory but wounded or cost the lives of thousands.
An almost unrecognisable Helen Mirren brings to life one of the most iconic and influential political leaders of the twentieth century, previously played by Ingrid Bergman on TV and Anne Bancroft on stage. Meir was a woman at the centre of a dramatic geopolitical episode, in a potentially fatal moment for her country, surrounded by men: her generals Dayan, Elazar and Sharon, and Henry Kissinger in a decisive scene of high diplomacy.