“Munich”   by Jason Callan

It’s been seven long years for Steven Spielberg since Saving Private Ryan, and a long path of turds leading to Munich.  This is the story of Black September, the code name for the Israeli retaliation against the Palestinian planners of the 1972 Munich Olympics massacre where 11 Israeli athletes were taken hostage in their dormitory and ultimately executed by the terrorists. 

This is not a precise re-enactment of the Munich incident, rather a study of the “eye for an eye” response doled out by the enraged State of Israel and its feisty grandmother, Golda Meir.  Israeli commando Avner (played with intensity by Eric Bana who continues to play “you won’t like me when I’m angry” post “Hulk”) is tapped to lead a group of Israeli assassins on a systematic and open-ended mission to take out the planners of the Munich tragedy where the lived and hid throughout Europe.  As the team takes to it’s task overseen by Mossad henchmen Ephraim (another top-notch performance by Geoffrey Rush whose resume is too long to mention, but this guy was good enough to add credibility to Pirates of the Caribbean despite Jerry Bruckheimer’s involvement) you begin to see these men aren’t killers, merely loyal Israelis who become obsessed with killing.  In traditional Spielberg style, torment of the state of his children and the senseless violence begin to push Avner towards madness. 

An uplifting movie this was not, and despite the excellent pacing and intense scenes at points, your ass is still going to feel every minute of this 164 minute pseudo-documentary.  In early interviews Spielberg called this film his prayer for peace.  I didn’t really take that out of it; rather it drove home the point that there may never be peace in the Middle East, especially if the cycle of violence is not broken.  The pointless revenge upon revenge racking up dead children and heartbroken families, and never is a side without blame. 

Israel is America’s foster child and there is a great deal of sympathy here for their ongoing struggle as we are shown images of suicide bombers and dead civilians.  Munich drove home to me the often overlooked fact that Israel is just as maniacal and dangerous as their Gaza neighbors.  Everyone deserves a home, we thought enough of the Jews to carve them out one in the middle of the desert, and why not do the same for Palestine?  Until it happens we will remain the parent, because left unchecked Israel could outdo their neighbors with their capacity for violence and retribution.  The Jews are the chosen people alright, chosen to live in torment.  In that way, the Palestinians must be the chosen people as well.

Spielberg did a nice job with yet another yarn about his homeland, but despite the timely subject matter and fascinating story, I don’t see this as a Best Picture of the Year.  This is an important film however, and you’ll realize our role in it all at the very last shot of the movie.  Don’t worry Jerry, you can make out during this one.