The Bibi Files
In 2016, Israeli police began an extensive corruption investigation against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. In 2019, Israeli attorney general Avichai Mandelblit announced that for the first time in Israeli history, a Prime Minister was being indicted on the charges of bribery, fraud and breech of trust. The trial continues as Netanyahu hangs onto power by forming a coalition with Israel's most right-wing extremists and refusing to stop the war in Gaza. Director Alexis Bloom ("Catching Fire: The Story of Anita Pallenberg") paints a portrait of the man using historical background, newsreel footage, present day commentary and leaked police investigation video in "The Bibi Files."
Laura's Review: A
With assistance from such figures as investigative journalist Raviv Drucker, who was sued by Netanyahu three times; former head of Shin Bet, Israel's secret service, Medal of Valor honoree and senior fellow of the Israeli Democratic Institute Ami Ayalon; and Nir Hefetz, police witness and close aide to the Netanyahus, Bloom makes a powerful case against Israeli's Prime Minister, not only for extending a war resulting in tens of thousands of civilian casualties in order to stay in power, but in his part in creating the circumstances which led to October 7 to begin with. And then there is the corruption, so much corruption. It is no surprise that this has been banned in Israel as it is a damning portrayal.
After Drucker tells us that the corruption trial is always topmost on Netanyahu's mind, the man terrified of being sent to prison (sound familiar?), Ayalon notes that the PM isn't attempting a cover-up, but an attempt to kill the entire system of accountability. Bloom will show the greatest protests in Israel's history after the PM attempted sweeping Supreme Court 'reform.' With the exception of the armed conflict in Gaza, every step of the way there are parallels to Trump in the U.S., currently trying to install loyalists within the Department of Justice and F.B.I. In fact, one of the very first witness tapes we see is that of Miriam Adelson, a major Trump supporter, concerned about her testimony being made public (her husband Sheldon is called in as well).
There were hundreds of witness testimonies for the trial and for every one we see, like that of Hollywood producer Arnon Milchan's former assistant, Bloom counters with tape of Netanyahu himself, denying everything and calling everyone else liars. The police investigators are more than skeptical, pushing back with such statements as 'so everyone but you is lying?' Even worse is Netanyahu's wife Sara, who preemptively and aggressively attacks the police claiming they are trying to take down her husband, the great 'protector of Israel.' The charges of accepting Cuban cigars and cases of champagne may sound inconsequential in the scheme of things, until we learn that, unlike the 'gifts from close friends' Netanyahu claims, these things were demanded, Milchan's aide telling of Sara asking for a $42,000 diamond studded Tiffany bracelet, then asking if she could return it because Bibi thought it 'too flashy' (i.e., likely to be questioned, proof that he is very aware that what they are doing is wrong, along with more than one witness describing the use of code words). And the 'gifts' are indeed bribes, Milchan having asked Netanyahu to personally intervene in getting him a U.S. Visa, something Drucker is aghast that the PM, who contacted Secretary of State Kerry on the matter, would waste political capital on. Things get even worse when we hear about Netanyahu's relationship with billionaire Shaul Elovitch, whose need for a quick cash infusion required Bibi's signature and for which he has been paying with advantageous political coverage on his popular news website Walla. Editors who were critical of the PM were fired.
In addition to filling in the back story of Netanyahu's rise in Israeli politics after the death of his heroic older brother Yoni during the raid on Entebbe, Bloom portrays the family now, tracing Sara's powerful hold on her husband back to a thirty year old sex scandal where he admitted to an affair (many claim he is afraid of her, Sheldon Adelson opining that Israel would be better off if she didn't have his ear). Their son Yair is even more extreme politically than his father, just like the men Netanyahu has cozied up to to stay in power, anti-Arab activist Itamar Ben-Gvir, a right wing fascist extremist who has stated Palestinian flags 'promote terrorism' while lionizing Israeli terrorists, and Bezalel Smotrich, another right wing extremist who denies the existence of the Palestinian people. Both live illegally in West Bank settlements and, Bloom argues, their right-wing government created the instability which opened the door for October 7. Netanyahu himself siphoned $35 million a month to Hamas through Qatar thinking he could control them and keep them from joining forces with the Palestinian Authority in the West Bank.
With "The Bibi Files," Alexis Bloom concisely provides a history of Benjamin Netanyahu that leaves us staggered by the evil one man can unleash upon the world. It is a crucial work of non-fiction filmmaking.
Robin's Review: B+
A documentary film should, at the very least, educate and entertain the viewer. But, some documentaries also piss off said viewer. That is just what director Alexis Bloom does with a look into the long-running corruption investigation of Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu in “The Bibi Files.”
Just knowing the subject matter of “The Bibi Files” prepared me to be one of the pissed off viewers. However, I did not expect just how much this well-made and informative documentary would anger me. The “interrogations” and interviews of various friends, colleagues and employees of Netanyahu are a mix of “he did nothing wrong” to a litany of “here is what he did that was wrong.”
These interviews, obtained via leaked footage, show Netanyahu as a venal and selfish man with endless self-ambition. As the interviewers delve into various forms of bribes from many “donors,” giving expensive gifts to Bibi, his response is universally, “I don’t remember” or “lies!” I did not believe him for a minute and neither do the Israeli people.
The most eye-opening aspect of the whole interview process, are those with Benny’s wife Sara. This woman not only thinks that everything her husband did was completely legal and he (and, by extension, she) should be exempt of any crimes committed – while denying any crime committed. “What a piece of work” came to mind more than once while watching Sara’s rants.
One of the things that come from “The Bibi Files” is that no one is above the law. But, it looks like Bibi is and will likely get away with it all, just like another “politician” I know of.
"The Bibi Files" has played in select theaters in LA and NY and will begin streaming at jolt.com on 12/11/24.
