Guy Nattiv

Oscar-winner Helen Mirren (The Queen) embodies Golda. Her skillful performance as Israel’s steely Prime Minister Golda Meir is startling to behold and a sure Academy Award contender. Israeli-American filmmaker Guy Nattiv’s docudrama focuses on the aftermath of the Yom Kippur War in 1973, when a coalition of Arab states, led by Egypt and Syria, surprise-attacked Israel on the most holy, contemplative day of the Jewish calendar. Utilizing a script by Nicholas Martin, Nattiv tells a tension-filled tale – one that was unknown until about 10 years ago when Top Secret government documents were declassified and 75 year-old Golda Meir’s suppressed anguish, deciding on a plan of action during that pivotal moment in history, was revealed.

In 2023, how can a 100-minute film portray the complicated, multidimensional 1973 Yom Kippur War? For Israeli director Guy Nattiv in Golda, the answer consists of several elements. First, anchor the history in Prime Minister Golda Meir’s exceptional ability to navigate Arab-Israeli politics, her cabinet’s multiple conflicts, and her friendly but fraught relationship with U.S. Secretary of State Henry Kissinger. Golda is a significant film and history lesson. The cast advances every delicate nuance, with Helen Mirren as Golda, the anchor of every scene.

Golda is not a biopic of the life of Golda Meir, the Israeli politician who helped found the state in 1948 and served as its fourth Prime Minister. Instead this film focuses on the powerful events surrounding the 1973 Yom Kippur War between Israel, Egypt and Syria when Golda was calling the shots as the Iron Lady head of state. Dame Helen Mirren, an indomitable force in her own right and no stranger to playing influential women, is Golda believably conveys the leader’s fierce spirit along with her quiet tenderness from the top of Meir’s chain smoking head all the way down to her sturdy orthopedic shoes.