Story

Amid widespread dissent with Israel’s lack of preparedness when they were simultaneously attacked by both the Egyptians and Arabs, Israeli Prime Minister Golda Meir (Helen Mirren) shares her experience of what happened during the 19-day Yom Kippur War that nearly destroyed her nation.

Audiences are never taken to the battlefront but are instead given a behind the scenes glimpse of the command centres and allowed to listen to the troops as they are repeatedly overcome and killed.

Multiple battles take place, strategic meetings are held, negotiations are made and other nations intervene as the consequences of this war are soon to be felt abroad.

Despite unprecedented losses, Israel remains undefeated but must make concessions for the sake of peace and in order to survive long term in such a hostile region. The weight of unimaginable decisions lies heavily on Golda’s shoulders as she attempts to govern a nation, rally troops and fight an aggressive form of cancer. Audiences are given a rare glimpse into the pressures this woman faced, the human behind the political figure and the reasons for the momentous choices she made.

Themes

War; illness; cancer; veiled references to the Holocaust; dirty politics and the hatred of multiple nations towards another.

Violence

Golda has some violence. For example:

• There are images of bombings as Israel is invaded on 2 fronts. There’s also occasionally some historical footage of the war.
• Golda walks through an angry mob who are yelling and screaming at her.
• One character, when speaking of the enemy, promises others that: ‘We will crush their bones. We will tear them limb from limb’.
• Egypt and Syria attack Israel. Explosions occur as tanks are hit. It appears as though thousands of tanks are destroyed. There are sounds of soldiers begging for help and reinforcements before they are killed.
• A number of reservists are trapped (among them, the son of someone who works with Golda) and when Golda orders their rescue it becomes evident that it was a trap as a thousand more men are killed.
• Missiles are fired and the Israeli soldiers are told, despite being horribly outnumbered, that no one is to retreat. From the command centre, Golda and her advisors listen to the soldiers beg for their lives before hearing the gun shots and explosions that claim their lives.
• Golda’s secret cancer treatments take place in a morgue and each time she visits there are more and more bodies lining both walls of the passageway she walks through.
• Tanks fire on each other and explode.
• Eleven pilots die.
• Golda wants the enemies to believe that she is capable of doing anything, including purposefully allowing 30,000 men to die. She says that if the enemy does not fear us, they will attack again and again.
• In a tense scene, Golda slices through her own palms with her fingernails while blood drips down her hand.
• Golda answers a phone call to learn that 300 more men have died (she keeps a tally of the dead in a little book she carries with her). She is overcome with the sound of gunfire and screaming. As the room begins to spin around her, she can hear babies crying. She lays down on the floor, covering her ears with her hands in an effort to block out the horrific sounds.
• Golda is informed that 7,000 soldiers have died, that 2,000 are wounded and that 300 are still missing.
• It is mentioned that some of the bodies are being returned to Israel ‘in pieces’.
• One character reminds another that ‘Jesus was beaten in the streets for fun’.
• Golda stays out at an airfield late one night to watch the bodies of soldiers being unloaded from a plane in wooden boxes.
• At the end of the movie, numerous, small, dead birds are shown lying on the floor of a corridor.

Sexual references

There are no sexual references in Golda.

Alcohol, drugs and other substances

Golda has some substance use. For example:

• Numerous characters smoke throughout the movie.
• Golda was an obsessive chain smoker, and this was clearly displayed. She smoked everywhere she went – in meetings, in bed, in cars, at home, on rooftops and even in the hospital during her radiation treatments.
• A character mentions to Golda that when President Nixon drinks he talks of you.
• Beers are served in cups.
• Golda is shown at the end of her life, lying in a hospital bed and alternating between breathing with her oxygen mask and puffing on her cigarette.

Nudity and sexual activity

There’s no nudity and sexual activity in Golda.

Product placement

There’s no product placement in Golda.

Coarse language

There’s no coarse language in Golda.

Ideas to discuss with your children

Golda is a biographical account of the role Israel’s Prime Minister played during the Yom Kipper War. The movie includes some subtitles and some historical footage, from the war and from events afterwards as peace treaties were negotiated. This is not a movie for children: it’s better suited to teen and older audiences.

These are the main messages from Golda:

• Persevere through all things.
• Be aware of the cost of death and the value of a human life.
• Fight for what you believe to be true.
• Never, ever give up.

Values in Golda that could reinforce with your children are courage, bravery, compassion, tolerance, and understanding.

Golda could also give you the chance to talk with your children about issues like these:

• Making huge decisions on your own and accepting the consequences of the outcomes.
• Taking what doesn’t belong to you.
• Waging war.