Synopsis
Based on the best-selling book by Ambassador Yehuda Avner, The Prime Ministers: The Pioneers takes the audience inside the offices of Israel's Prime Ministers through the eyes of an insider, Yehuda Avner, who served as a chief aide, English language note-taker and speechwriter to Levi Eshkol, Golda Meir, Yitzhak Rabin, Menachem Begin, and Shimon Peres. The first of two parts, The Prime Ministers: The Pioneers focuses on Ambassador Avner's years working with Prime Ministers Levi Eshkol and Golda Meir and then US Ambassador Yitzhak Rabin and reveals new details about the Six-Day War, the development of Israel's close strategic relationship with the United States, the fight against terrorism, the Yom Kippur War and its aftermath.
Your Movie Library
Cast
- Sandra BullockGolda Meir (voice)
- Michael DouglasYitzhak Rabin (voice)
- Leonard NimoyLevi Eshkol (voice)
- Christoph WaltzMenachem Begin (voice)
Recommendations
- 60
Los Angeles Times
The film's main misstep, however, is its unconvincing use of celebrity voices to re-create various speeches and letters... Though well-intended, their inclusion proves a needless distraction in an otherwise smart and dignified presentation. - 50
Slant Magazine
The documentary is dressed to the nines in pomp and patriotism, which seems meant to hide the fact that the film offers very little in the way of valuable reporting or insider information. - 50
The New York Times
A bit overstuffed with history and tales of perseverance, the film doesn’t have room for balanced political analysis or even exposition at times. It’s an omission that feels like a missed opportunity, but maybe that will be resolved in the next installment. - 50
Variety
Moderately interesting as a once-over-lightly political history lesson best suited for home-screen consumption. - 50
The Globe and Mail (Toronto)
Not much room for controversy here, and certainly none for counterargument, this is prime-time TV history rendered as a soothing, Papa Bear bedtime story. - 50
Washington Post
The Prime Ministers: The Pioneers is hampered by a static structure that relies too heavily on a single voice. - 40
Arizona Republic
Among the many historical documentaries on Israel there are to choose from, this one is tantamount to two hours of footnotes. - 30
Village Voice
This particular rendition of a history often told is little more than propaganda.