Munich

Review By: Bruce Bluett
BruceBluett@TheCinemaSource.com

Steven Spielberg may very well have snuck his best film in under the radar. With little publicity, and even less in box office attendance, Munich may claim the spot of sleeper hit of 2005-06. Although it’s early in the game to make such a statement, it certainly is the number-one movie people are not seeing. Munich proves itself to be Spielberg’s most whole, deep, and human film in a career that has produced nothing but. The film weaves the tragic murder of 11 Israeli athletes at the 1972 Olympics in Munich through the eyes of a man sent to reap their vengeance. Subtlety is the name of the game on every level, be it espionage, murder, love, or friendship.

As much as the name “Spielberg” should rouse an audience to the theatre, ample credit must be given to screenwriter Tony Kushner. It’s easy to be dwarfed by the greatest director of our time but Kushner deserves equal praise for his accomplishment. He creates characters with such dimension and depth matched by situations of true tension and fear. The idea of truth is Kushner and Spielberg’s best tool in this film, and they make use of it well. We begin in a world that is beige and end in one that is gray, one as vague as the next. The only truth of the situation is the humanity behind the hate. We are, again, subtly presented all sides of the story, constantly stepping into the shoes of other men capable of the same acts of good and evil.

Following the highly publicized murder of the 11 Israeli athletes at the 1972 Olympics, the Israeli intelligence force sends a team to kill the Palestinians responsible for their slaughter. Heading the operation is Avner (Eric Bana) a young man about to father his first child. Initially reluctant to take the assignment, the images of Munich and the enemies surrounding his people force him to the call. Aided by Steve the driver (Daniel Craig), Carl the clean-up man (Ciaran Hinds), Robert the bomb-maker (Mathieu Kassovitz), and Hans the watchman (Hanns Zischler), Avner plans the assassination of the members of the Palestinian terrorist group known as Black September. Each name ticked off the list should bring a sense of accomplishment and justice to Avner, but it only invites more pain and hate. Avner’s once simple way of life is turned into a maelstrom of paranoia, regret, and despair. In the struggle for ultimate justice he is awakened to the myth of good and evil.

As thorough of a drama as Munich is, the quality of the action, adventure, and pure suspense show Spielberg’s true talent in each genre. The tension is the theatre is palpable, at least one or twice I looked around wondering if anyone had planted a bomb in the theatre itself…and what kind of statement ...