Ha-Hov, aka HaChov, or in English, The Debt, is a 2007 Israeli drama-thriller film directed by Assaf Bernstein and starring Gila Almagor, Yuriy Chepurnov, and Oleg Drach, about three retired Mossad agents confronted by a challenge from their past.
It was remade as the 2010 American/British film The Debt, mixing the Mengele and Eichmann stories.
The film is fictional[3] and centers on an Israeli-MossadKidon team. In 1964, they capture a notorious Nazi doctor, "The Surgeon of Birkenau",[3] who had performed human experimentation in a German extermination camp. When he escapes from them, they report him as being shot once in the head and killed during his attempted escape. In the following years, the agents receive numerous accolades for their actions, with no one suspecting the truth, but in the late 1990s they learn he may be alive, repentant, and likely to expose the truth of the events.[4][5]
Cinematic history
The film was nominated for four awards by the Israeli Film Academy in 2007: Best Art Direction, Ido Dolev; Best Cinematography,
Giora Bejach; Best Costumes, Inbal Shuki; and Best Supporting Actress, Neta Garty.[6]
The film has had no theatrical release in United States as of February 2011[update],[7] but a version with English subtitles has screened at U.S. film festivals[8][9] and has been shown on the Sundance cable television channel.[10]
"The Debt" (2007) garnered recognition in the cinematic world, receiving four nominations at the Israeli Film Academy Awards in 2007. These nominations included Best Art Direction, acknowledging the work of Ido Dolev; Best Cinematography, attributed to Giora Bejach; Best Costumes, designed by Inbal Shuki; and a nod for Best Supporting Actress, recognizing Neta Garty's performance in the film.
