I experienced an odd sense of deja vu during Munich. The plot about a tragic, murderous event being answered by a poorly planned, superficial military action designed to get-the-bad-guys-before-they-get-us-again seemed strangely familiar.
Seems as though I've been watching this flick for way too long.
Munich follows the covert Operation Wrath Of God , carried out by Israel after the tragic events of the 1972 Summer Olympics, where 11 Israelis were murdered by Palestinian terrorists. When several members of the Black September organization responsible for the terror are released months later by German officials, Israel recruits field agents to work secretly across the globe to track down and kill people known (or suspected) to be terrorists.
Directed by Steven Spielberg, Munich is a complicated and multi-layered look at the effects that Operation Wrath of God has on Avner, one of those recruited to lead the effort. Eric Bana plays Avner, and is most effective by showing the character as being both heroic and conflicted. How the operation affects Avner, his family and his sense of patriotism is interesting to watch, and well-illustrated by Spielberg.
Munich is appropriately violent, emotional, complicated and disturbing, much like real-life actions taken by countries struggling with how to respond to a potential crisis. It's long, though. Much longer than it needs to be...***1/2
2 comments:
This was one of my favorite films of last year - except for a scene toward the end. I won't spoil it for anyone who hasn't seen the movie, but it involves flashbacks and doesn't work nearly as well as it might have on the page.
Otherwise, I liked the acting and thought Spielberg did some interesting things with color as the film progresses.
Ian, I spent way too much effort in this post on the political parallels than the film itself, which I regret. Fact is, it was a great movie and the evolution of color was a big part of why it was great. Regarding the scene you mention: It was a very confusing part of the film for me, I didn't get it, and I didn't read the book. What the hell was it about?
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