Film

The Death of Klinghoffer

Name: The Death of Klinghoffer
Genre: Drama, Music
Released: 2003
Cast: Sanford Sylvan, Yvonne Howard, Christopher Maltman, Tom Randle, Kamel Boutros

John Adams's opera about the 1985 Achille Lauro hijacking, where Palestinian militants seize a cruise ship and its passengers. Sung throughout, it confronts a real atrocity without flinching or choosing sides—an unflinching meditation on violence, identity, and how we narrate tragedy. Not comfort; not entertainment. Art that demands something of you.

Should you watch it?

Watch it if you care more about a story told through music and stillness than through plot, and you want an opera that forces you to sit with an unresolved, morally tangled event.

Skip it if you need a brisk plot or easy-to-follow lyrics, since much of this runs on static staging and dense, unfamiliar vocal music.

What it asks of you: Two hours of sustained, unhurried attention, with long sung stretches, a slow build, and a tone that stays grave rather than light.

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Not sure tonight? Get a pick in a minute, starting from The Death of Klinghoffer

The wildcard

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