What can I say about this movie except, wow. It\'s a beautiful movie to watch, the cinematography is ethereal, (a nod of course to cinematographer Janus Kaminsky, also cinematographer of War of the Worlds and numerous other Spielberg films. Is there a trend here? I like to think so) and a beautiful and sad tale. This movie is probably the closest that Spielberg will ever get to depressing, even the ending is relatively sad and leaves you unsettled, as though Spielberg himself did not quite know how he wanted to end it. But Spielberg has come a long way from E.T. to Munich. To sum the movie up without giving it away completely, Palestinian terrorists kill members of the Israeli Olympic team in 1972. The Israeli government hires this man Avner (played by Eric Bana), a man faithful to his mother land, and several other men who include a bomb maker, getaway driver, “cleanerâ€, and documents forger to track down and kill the major actors of the Munich assassination.
As these men go from each job, each person begins to question their own actions and motives behind these assassinations and become increasingly anxious about their enemies finding out their whereabouts. It is not long that Avner begins to question his own actions, whether they are making a difference, and whether his patriotism is warranted. The acting is superlative, Eric Bana has a great role that shows off his acting skills unlike his most recent movies (Incredible Hulk, Troy) and he pulls off being and Israeli quite elegantly. His wife, played by Ayelet Zurer is superb and acts as an anchor and guide for Avner. The supporting actors all put their heart and soul into making the movie a masterpiece. What I felt was the most interesting throughout the movie was the punctuations of humor sprinkled in between the drama. It did help to lighten the mood, but what it really did was accentuate the nervousness of the characters as well as their confusion. The emotions are extremely visceral and come across absolutely in the big screen. For me, perhaps the most powerful scene is when Avner hears his daughter’s voice on the phone for the first time and she calls him “Dada.†He is so overcome that he cannot speak and this moment is what makes Avner keep going, so that he can protect his family and his him.
It is a great pleasure to watch a movie that does have a message and does convey such strong emotions. It\'s not even trying to get people to go along with the Israeli sentiment, but rather concentrate on the people. Even the Palestinians are portrayed as people, not monsters or humans bereft of feeling. Rather the movie seeks to show the humanity on both sides. They both had much to gain and lose, but it\'s the idea of a home that keeps them going. The Palestinians seek a home that was never there, they seek to have a home while the Israelis want to protect their home. But during that time, while trying to protect his country and family, Avner realizes that it didn\'t matter who or how many people they killed, more horrendous people replaced them. It shows this never-ending cycle of violence, and even when Avner (Bana) gets out, he continually lives in fear. He cannot go down the street without being wondering if some one has put a mark on him. He cannot even sleep at night without worrying some one infused a trap in his room. There is no release, short of death, for these men. Those that terrorize or are terrorized face the same fears and nightmares, and I think that\'s the main message of this movie. Overall, watch it. It is depressing but it\'s just a beautiful film. The emotions attached to such an attack, not unlike what we may have felt after the World Trade Center attacks, are engage the audience and puts recent events into perspective. See it. You won\'t regret it.
"Munich" opens December 23, 2005 and is rated R. Drama. Directed by Steven Spielberg. Written by Georg Jonas (book), Tony Kushner (screenplay). Starring Ayelet Zurer, Ciaran Hinds, Daniel Craig, Eric Bana, Mathieu Kassovitz, Hanns Zischler, Geoffrey Rush.
