‘Oslo’ Review: Timely HBO Movie Tackles Landmark Israeli-Palestinian Peace Talks
Variety
1 hr ago
Perhaps it’s time for another meeting between officials from Israel and Palestine like the series of off-the-books negotiations that took place in Oslo, Norway, back in 1993. Those sessions — conducted in secret over nearly six months, since Israeli policy forbade interacting with or otherwise acknowledging the authority of the Palestinian Liberation Organization — paid off in a very public handshake between Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin and PLO leader Yasser Arafat, photographed with then-U.S. President Bill Clinton.
But the U.S. had little to do with the Oslo Accords, as J.T. Rogers’ Tony-winning play “Oslo” reminded audiences when it premiered at New York’s Lincoln Center Theater in 2016. The discussions were brokered by a nonpartisan Norwegian couple, which provides a uniquely neutral framing device for an in-depth look at the issues concerning both sides. Now, as a recent outbreak of violence in the region reminds how precarious any peace agreement has been, it’s no wonder that HBO has scheduled its made-for-TV adaptation to air sooner than later, when its historical perspective might prove most relevant.