History Film / TheDebt

''The Debt'' is an Israeli [[SpyFiction espionage drama]] released in 2007 and an American remake released in 2011. The latter stars Creator/HelenMirren, Creator/SamWorthington, Creator/JessicaChastain, Creator/CiaranHinds and Tom Wilkinson.

* GrandmaWhatMassiveHotnessYouHave: 1997 Rachel.

* HannibalLecture: {{Played straight}} when Dieter Vogel tries, with some success, to torment the Mossad agents. See TheSocialDarwinist below.

''The Debt'' is an Israeli [[SpyFiction espionage drama]] released in 2007 and an American remake released in 2011. The latter stars Creator/HelenMirren, Sam Worthington, Creator/JessicaChastain, Creator/CiaranHinds and Tom Wilkinson.

* {{Expy}}: Vogel is one for Josef Mengele (a Nazi doctor who performed horrible experiments on Jews during the Holocaust, [[spoiler: who escaped attempts by Nazi hunters to be brought to justice and died in Brazil]].)

* HowWeGotHere: {{Subverted}}. Near the beginning of the film, Rachel (in 1997) reads a passage from her daughter's book about the 1965 mission. As she reads, we see the scene -- the climax of the mission -- unfold as an isolated {{Flashback}}. A little later, the film goes back to 1965 to show the whole mission, until we eventually reach the scene from the book again. But this time, [[spoiler:when Vogel bashes Rachel's head against the radiator, she loses consciousness, and he gets away]]. We then see some of the aftermath of what really happened before shifting back to 1997 for the real climax of the story.
* InstantSedation: {{Averted}} -- Vogel puts up quite a fight before going down.

* TheSocialDarwinist: Vogel tells David that the victims of the Holocaust went to their deaths without resistance, proving that Jews are mindless animals who don't deserve to live in the first place. David -- whose entire family was killed in the Holocaust -- finally [[BerserkButton loses his cool]] during this speech. [[spoiler: This turns out to have been Vogel's aim, since he uses it to escape.]]

* LonelyPianoPiece: In-universe. Rachel, feeling down, plays [[LudwigVanBeethoven Beethoven]]'s ''[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moonlight_Sonata Mondscheinsonate]]'' on the apartment piano. Stephan, who is a better pianist, sits beside her and gives it more emotion.

* TheSocialDarwinist: Vogel tells David that the victims of the Holocaust went to their deaths without resistance, proving that Jews are mindless animals who don't deserve to live in the first place. David -- whose entire family was killed in the Holocaust -- finally [[BerserkButton loses his cool]] during this speech. [[spoiler: This turns out to have Vogel's aim, since he uses it to escape.]]

* BadassIsraeli: Deconstructed. The Israeli agents are tough, but also human. They go to extreme lengths to get their man, but are also prone to mistakes. Ultimately, their most extreme measure is covering up their failure, since they cannot handle the shame of a Nazi beating them.

* {{Expy}}: Vogel is one for Josef Mengele (Nazi doctor who performed horrible experiments on Jews during the Holocaust, [[spoiler: who escaped attempts by Nazi hunters to be brought to justice]])

* HandicappedBadass: 1997 Stephan is stuck in a wheelchair thanks to a carbomb somewhere during the time skip. But there's no doubt he's a badass.
* HannibalLecture: Played straight when Dieter Vogel tries, with some success, to torment the Mossad agents. See TheSocialDarwinist below.
* HerrDoktor: Vogel
* HowWeGotHere: Subverted. Near the beginning of the film, Rachel (in 1997) reads a passage from her daughter's book about the 1965 mission. As she reads, we see the scene -- the climax of the mission -- unfold as an isolated {{Flashback}}. A little later, the film goes back to 1965 to show the whole mission, until we eventually reach the scene from the book again. But this time, [[spoiler:when Vogel bashes Rachel's head against the radiator, she loses consciousness, and he gets away]]. We then see some of the aftermath of what really happened before shifting back to 1997 for the real climax of the story.
* InstantSedation: Averted -- Vogel puts up quite a fight before going down.
* JerkAss: Stephan

* TheSocialDarwinist: Vogel tells David that the victims of the Holocaust went to their deaths without resistance, proving that Jews are mindless animals who don't deserve to live in the first place. David -- whose entire family was killed in the Holocaust -- finally [[BerserkButton loses his cool]] during this speech.

* StrikeMeDownWithAllOfYourHatred: Vogel could teach [[StarWars Palpatine]] a thing or two.

The original film was set in UsefulNotes/{{Israel}}, 1997, and UsefulNotes/{{Berlin}}, UsefulNotes/{{Germany}}, 1965, and follows three young {{Mossad}} agents, Ehud, Zvi, and Rachel. In 1965, the three agents were sent to Berlin to capture a Nazi war criminal named Dieter Vogel (a.k.a. the Surgeon of Birkenau). Despite careful planning, their inexperience and poor luck threaten their mission. The film cuts between 1965 and 1997, where the three agents deal with the aftermath of their mission 30 years later.

* BillingDisplacement: Although Helen Mirren is topbilled, third-billed Jessica Chastain actually has the most screen time of the leads.

* FakeNationality: Helen Mirren, Tom Wilkinson (both English), Jessica Chastain (American), [[Creator/CiaranHinds Ciarán Hinds]] (Irish), Sam Worthington (Australian) and Marton Csokas (New Zealander) all play Israelis.
** Within the story, Stephan and David are Israelis pretending to be Germans, and Rachel is an Israeli pretending to be an Argentinian.

''The Debt'' is an Israeli [[SpyFiction espionage drama]] released in 2007 and an American remake released in 2011. The latter stars Creator/HelenMirren, Sam Worthington, Creator/JessicaChastain, [[Creator/CiaranHinds Ciarán Hinds]]and Tom Wilkinson.