Movie Review: Munich

(As usual, contains spoilers) "Every civilization finds it necessary to negotiate compromises with its own values." is one of the more memorable lines from this documentary style period piece about the Israeli response to the tragedy at the 1972 Munich games. The world watched in horror as "Black September" took 11 Israeli athletes hostage in 1972 and then murdered them as the terrorist group escaped.

Avner (Eric Bana Troy) is a Israeli agent called on to defend the honor of his country following the murder of the Olympians. He and 4 other agents are given 11 names of "Black September" operatives to assassinate in response to the killings in Germany.

Munich speaks to several different issues surrounding the current Middle Eastern problems. Most notably is it's clear assertion that violence has no end. "For every one that we kill, there is another who takes his place, another more terrible than the last." For each terrorist that the team finds and kills there is also a retaliatory action taken against Israeli civilians: hijacking, bombings, shootings, etc. The message here is that violence begets violence. But what have we learned from the Israeli pulling out of the Gaza strip? Apparently peaceful compromise begets violence as well.

As Avner begins to realize that there is no end to what he is doing. And it becomes clear that what was once for honor becomes duty and then deteriorates into meaninglessness.

This was a very violent movie. A very large majority of the violence was necessary and understandable. An exception would be a scene near the end where Mr. Spielberg gratuitously meshes a scene of violence with a sexually charged scene, very disturbing and quite an unnecessary choice.

Also, be prepared for a long movie. Nearly three hours of vengeance seemed a bit much. The period was expertly captured. With large sweeping shots it was clear that everything was controlled: cars, extras, posters, building facades; The acting was fantastic. Bana shined in an accent that never wavered and was excellently supported by the unknowns in his team. The script was well written and it was fascinating to watch the characters change as they become desensitized to what they were doing. Technically exquisite.

One particularly poignant scene was between Avner and a Palestinian agent both discussing why they do what they do. This conversation raised the question: What makes one cause honorable and another dishonorable. What makes one group's interest reasonable and another's outrageous. What makes one country's killers heroes and another's dogs? These are questions that I have yet to answer.

The final shot foreshadows the fact that the terrorism that we were watching would quickly find itself on American soil all too soon.

If you can handle realistic violence (and a brief scene of nudity) this movie is very compelling and definitely worth seeing. 3.75 stars out of 5. And that's just my opinion.