Watch The Rainbow Warrior
- PG
- 1993
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5.5 (308)
The Rainbow Warrior is a 1993 drama film directed by Michael Tuchner, based on the true story of the bombing of the Greenpeace ship Rainbow Warrior in 1985 by French agents. The movie stars Jon Voight as Peter Willcox, the captain of the Rainbow Warrior, and Sam Neill as Alan Galbraith, a Greenpeace official who coordinates much of the organization's activity in the region. The cast also includes Bruno Lawrence as a New Zealand detective investigating the bombing, and Kerry Fox as a young journalist who becomes involved in the story.
The movie begins with the arrival of the Rainbow Warrior in Auckland, New Zealand, where the crew is preparing for a voyage to protest French nuclear testing in the Pacific. The French government, meanwhile, is determined to stop the protesters, and dispatches a team of agents to Auckland to carry out a sabotage operation against the ship.
As the crew of the Rainbow Warrior prepares to set sail, they come under increasing surveillance and harassment from the French agents, who are posing as tourists and journalists. But it is not until the night of July 10, 1985, that the full horror of their plan is revealed, as a bomb explodes on board the ship, killing one crew member and severely damaging the vessel.
The rest of the movie follows the aftermath of the bombing, as the crew struggles to come to terms with the loss of their shipmate and the destruction of their ship, and as the New Zealand authorities launch an investigation into the attack.
Peter Willcox and Alan Galbraith lead the efforts to uncover the truth about the bombing, while the French agents responsible for the attack attempt to cover their tracks and evade capture. As the investigation deepens, the full extent of French government involvement in the affair is revealed, and the crew of the Rainbow Warrior become international heroes for their determination to stand up against nuclear testing and government oppression.
The Rainbow Warrior is a gripping and emotionally charged drama that captures the spirit of activism and environmentalism that defined the Greenpeace movement in the 1980s. With a talented cast and a compelling script, it brings to life one of the seminal events in the history of environmental activism, and serves as a powerful testament to the courage and determination of those who fought to protect the planet from the destructive forces of industry and government.