7 Days in Entebbe

7 Days in Entebbe (2018) is a fact-based thriller from director José Padilha, and you can watch it online on iFILM. During the summer of 1976, four hijackers seize an Air France flight out of Tel Aviv and divert it, with 248 people aboard, to a half-abandoned airport in Uganda thousands of miles from home.

Two of the captors are Germans from a far-left cell, played by Rosamund Pike and Daniel Brühl, and the film tends to watch the standoff through their eyes rather than the passengers'. While negotiations drag on under Idi Amin's gaze on the tarmac, prime minister Rabin and defense minister Peres argue back in Jerusalem over whether to deal or to gamble hundreds of lives. Elsewhere, soldiers drill an assault that would end up in the manuals.

Padilha cuts the rescue against a modern dance piece — a divisive choice that won't land for everyone. As a lean, unglamorous account of one of the boldest raids ever filmed, though, it holds. Best for anyone who likes political thrillers drawn from real events without the Hollywood swell. Stream 7 Days in Entebbe (2018) online on iFILM.