Harodim (2012) User Reviews

NOVUS ORDO SECLORUM

[nogodnomasters · 3/10 · 17 April 2018]

***Early plot spoiler***

This is a three man play involving Lazarus Fell (Travis Fimmel), a Seal Team 6 member who faked his own death to pursue Bin Laden (Michael Desante) on his own. Lazarus' father Solomon (Peter Fonda) died in the 9-11 attack, although his body was never found.

The film consists mostly of an interview/interrogation of Bin Laden by Lazarus. He is informed that Al Qaida was created by the CIA and Bin Laden was a reluctant puppet. The movie uses certain facts to drive the point home such as the shorting of airline stocks prior to 9-11 and the Bush's family business connections to the Bin laden family.

Politically, this "truther" conspiracy theory is so far to the left and right, it is off the charts. The production and information did nothing to convince me that our own country order the attacks on itself in order to create an enemy for the military industrial complex to keep operating. This is Michael Moore's "Canadian Bacon" theory without the humor or entertainment.

I found the presentation of the material dry and boring. It essentially asks the viewer to go "look it up" and draw your own conclusions. Lazarus represents the skeptic in all of us. Unless you are into 9-11 conspiracy theories, you won't find much entertainment in this film.

Do the rich and powerful need to conceal their intent of world domination? Seriously. They already dominate the world, that is why they are rich and powerful.

Parental Guide: F-bombs. No sex or nudity.

If You Want To Form Beliefs, Don't Do It Based on a Thriller

[stevendecastro · 1/10 · 9 January 2015]

Even if you agree with 9/11 conspiracy theory, you will still be asleep by the end of this movie about two guys in a room. But honestly, are you going to form political opinions based on exposition being spewed out in a scripted drama?

Or perhaps you don't need convincing, and you get a thrill out of seeing your own preexisting belief confirmed on the silver screen. If so, you are not alone. I think everyone does that. But you will still need a strong cup of coffee for this flick. I would rather be water-boarded than have to sit through that again.

For myself, I have read the 9/11 report and seen other films (documentaries) on this subject. One thing the movie gets right is that those theories truly belong in fiction and should stay there.

My Dinner With Andre for Conpiracy Buffs

[transoptical · 10/10 · 3 June 2013]

This movie needs to be seen by every human on the planet. Every so often Hollywood gets it canny and right and lets us in on the secret world of manipulation by powerful private factions in global economics and politics. Harodim follows in the footsteps of China Syndrome, Mickey One and Wall Street in showing us how the game is really played.

In spite of the claustrophobic, stage play ambiance, Harodim is as riveting and compelling as any Lars Von Trier stage set piece. Peter Fonda is convincing and the revelatory nature of his role keeps his deadpan world weary character from predictability. Travis Fimmel must have taken time out from his smirking role in Vikings to make this film. His portrayal of slowly dawning enlightenment has its share of clichés, but this is more in the nature of the script than limitations of his craft. Michael Desante portrayal of Osama Bin Laden is authentic and lends the film its motivic rationale without any equivocation.

Very enjoyable, if only seen as a movie

[Kodijkack · 8/10 · 30 August 2014]

I had a bad feeling about watching this (according to this awful rating) but I also thought this could be one of these few cases of raging viewers down-voting a good movie because of very personal reasons. And this seems to be the case.

To be clear: My voting of 8/10 is based ONLY on the premise of viewing this as a total work of fiction loosely based on some facts. I understand that watching this movie as a person who was directly and personally affected by 9/11 probably makes said person quite angry. This movie could easily been seen as cheap propaganda, but i guess this was not really the intention.

Long story short: This movie is very enjoyable if you like stage-play-like films where dialog is the main ingredient. Basically there is just a handful actors in one cheap location. But who cares if said dialog manages to keep you listening for the whole time? If you're open minded and like thought provoking films (even if they may be just propaganda): Watch it! You won't regret it.

BTW I seldom review movies, only if i feel that a movie deserves it.

War and Religion are the only two powers that unite people

[sol-kay · 8/10 · 24 March 2013]

***SPOILER*** After a 10 year search where he faked his death and left his family former Navy Seal Lazarus Fell, Travis Fimmel, has finally got the person who eluded him as well as the free world all these years the #1 terrorist in the world. No it's not Osama Bin-Laden but someone nameless who's at least 20 years younger and speaks perfect English played by actor Michael Desante!

Holding Terrorist #1 hostage in this underground Vienna train station Lazarus gives him the business in how evil he is in being responsible for among other things the attacks on 9/11 that killed over 3,000 American citizens. It's when the totally unafraid of death and torture terrorist counterbalances Lazarus claims about him and his Al-Qeada terrorist organization that he suddenly starts to get second thought! Not just about what happened on 9/11 and who was behind it but everything that he's been thought in school as well as by his late Naval officer dad Solomon Fell, Peter Fonda, as being nothing but outright lies.

Despite being considered fiction the movie brings out a number of very disturbing events that shock those of us watching it. And it's the captured terrorist who brings those events out so clearly and convincingly that he not only changes Lazarus's mind in killing him but in fact ends up strongly agreeing with him instead! The facts that the terrorist brings out in the open are so,or seem to be, factual that even us watching have trouble in disbelieving them.

****SPOILERS**** The real kicker in the movie is Lazarus's dad Solomon Fell who in fact turned out to have survived the 9/11 attacks and pops up almost out of nowhere in the underground train station where his son & #1 Terrorist are staying. It's then that Solomon Fell lets out the truth of what's really going on in the world and why no one in power is willing or able to stop it. A truth so shocking as well as thought provoking that leaves you as well as by now the totally emotionally destroyed Lazarus wishing that you never heard it.

must-see...empathy!

[aiteip22 · 8/10 · 15 June 2013]

Rather than waste time with unproven details that side-track us into non-constructive debate over minutae, this film provides a chance to access our feelings and empathise with the actors on both sides of 9/11 events.

***spoiler*** Peter Fonda turns up towards the end of the movie and takes over the show. He doesn't just act, but you can tell he's speaking from the heart - a fact which is confirmed by watching the making of on the very worthwhile DVD.

I agree with the previous reviewer that the black-ops dude is a little young and fantastic. This is less a fault of the producers, but of the movie world per se: the lie that it's "up to a lone hero to conquer the bad guy" - rubbish...

...but that in no way hampers the great value of this picture. To me personally, Harodim is in a category with "Margin Call": soothing opportunity to see past arbitrary details and whodunits and access universal laws we deal can deal with in this lifetime or ignore at our peril!

I truly hope Harodim doesn't get buried in the States, or reduced to a "conspiracy" pic. More than that, it is a work of art. You needn't be part of the whole "Loose Change" truther movement to enjoy this film!

Harodim makes a valiant effort to connect the dots, starting with the CIA-Afghanistan-Bush-Laden connection, up to and including the tragedy of 911 that we all still chew on, like it or not!!

*** spoiler *** best summed up in its own words from the excellent script: (I'm quoting from memory) "we inevitably channel our energy either into art or war". The guys who made Harodim did the right thing: art with a conscience, but attempting (IMO - successfully!) to keep prejudice to a minimum. One or two factual errors I happily ignore, and feel sorry for anyone who rips the movie because of them. I am grateful I came across this DVD, and am about to re-watch it momentarily. PEACE!

Blown Away by the TRUTH told in this Movie!

[imdbtruth · 10/10 · 12 June 2015]

I did not know this movie existed, I can't believe they put the NWO story into a movie format, and actually did a pretty damn good job! I do believe that we are being lied to about 9/11, but regardless of that, 9/11 has been used to start a never ending war, whilst destroying privacy and individual liberty at home and abroad...

The "war on terror" is one that can never be won, and it will never end! What's a "terrorist" anyway? A criminal... That's what the people who conspired on 9/11 are, they're criminals, mass murderers! We have laws in place to deal with murderers, but they don't want you to see them simply as murderers..... No, I guess these people are worse than criminals, they're "worse than a murderer", they're "terrorists"... And "terrorists" or even "suspected terrorists", they don't have any Miranda rights like most people when they're arrested... Going along with the notion of "terrorism", is to go along with a notion that undermines the very fabric of the law that is in lace and to replace it with a new one that does not recognize the individual's liberty....

Some might say that there's an obvious difference between a "terrorist" like on 9/11, and your average murderer, so they should and will be dealt with accordingly... But to that notion, I would interject the Boston Marathon bombing... Though three people tragically lost their lives and many others were injured, this was a relatively small scale event... It's not all that rare in a big city to have a crime committed where 3+ people die and others are seriously wounded, and the likely suspect is still at large... However, because this was labelled as "terrorism", they suspended the citizens constitutional liberties, literally brought in an army of troops in state issued tanks and armoured vehicles, and put an entire city under martial law, all to catch two guys who allegedly killed 3 people in a city of almost a million people...

I also really like how the film gives the NWO cabal a fair chance to explain why they are driven to destroy us... I also like that they didn't paint the NWO cabal as some sort of cartoon-like entity... If you listen to some of the garbage that the globalist billionaires like Bill Gates spout, it sounds just like what the "dad/insider" in the movie says are their intended plans and motives... The director presented it fairly, which is what we need regarding such subjects, immediate debate...

There's only 3 actors in this movie, and I thought two of them gave stellar performances... The performance that I thought was sub-par was that of Travis Fimmel who played "Lazerus Fell" (the son/main protagonist)...

Still though, 10 out of 10 for telling the truth throughout the movie without drifting off into speculation or theory! 10 out of 10 for obviously getting the most out of what they had to work with! 10 out of 10 for having the balls to even make this film! 10 out of 10 for the overall effort put forth in the name of truth!!!!! HIGHLY RECOMMENDED VIEWING!!! CULT CLASSIC!

PS - Finishing it with the song "Bin Laden" by Immortal Technique (feat. Mos Def), that was also awesome and it fit perfectly!

If you liked JFK, you gonna love this!

[Manuel-Hoerth · 9/10 · 6 August 2021]

Conversely if you don't like Oliver Stone movies, you aren't gonna like this either.

It's a good movie and it's good entertainment, keeping you at the edge of your seat most of the time. And as such it does deserve 9 out of 10. The reason it has a much lower rating is because people take it for more than that and disagree with it. Just take it as what it is - a work of fiction. You wouldn't rate down an episode of the X-Files because not everything it portrays is exactly that way in reality, right? So why do it with this movie?

That said, even though it's of course fiction and at best a fictionalized version of real events, it's not even a badly researched movie. They definitely did their research and it encourages you to do your own research. Basically that's the message I got from it. It encourages people not to rely on what this movie portrays or what any movie portrays for that matter, but to look at things for themselves and form their own opinion and to do that with everything, not just with the subject of the movie.