Munich
Inspired by real events, Munich reveals the intense story of the secret Israeli squad assigned to track down and assassinate the 11 Palestinians believed to have planned the 1972 Munich massacre of 11 Israeli athletes - and the personal toll this mission of revenge takes on the team and the man who led it. Hailed as "tremendously exciting" (Peter Travers, Rolling Stone), Steven Spielberg's explosive suspense thriller garnered five Academy Award nominations, including Best Picture and Best Director.
Member Reviews
Spielberg operating at his peak — an exceptionally made, provocative and vital film for our times - moviemonger
A film of uncommon depth, intelligence, and sensitivity, Munich defies easy labeling. Watching the movie is like reading a top-notch espionage thriller by Le Carre or Deighton. Yet, at the same time, this is a visual experience. The moral and ethical elements, layered atop a story that is ripe with suspense, put to shame Hollywood's typical ventures into this genre. Munich is an eye-opener - a motion picture that asks difficult questions, presents well-developed characters, and keeps us white-knuckled throughout. The film is a true story about the consequence of the assassination of 11 Israeli athletes at the 1972 Olympics, by the Palestinians. The reaction from Israel is in the form of a secret group assigned to kill those responsible for this massacre. The film then depicts this group and the impact that it makes on these men. But the words "Inspired by real events" at the beginning of the movie indicate that the filmmakers did not restrict themselves to established facts. I don't take the movie to be a faithful reenactment of historical events; instead I see it as an exploration of some of the issues in carrying out a rational response to terrorism. Munich is an emotionally and intellectually engaging movie that reminded me of cinema's power as an art form. Only time will tell, but I suspect that it will come to be regarded as a great film. At the very least, it proves Spielberg to be a brave and masterful filmmaker at the top of his form. To my mind, Munich is a daring film because it takes on difficult issues for which there are no easy answers. Unlike most Hollywood movies that make it obvious what the filmmaker wants the audience to think and feel, I was impressed by how Munich has an almost art-house sensibility: Spielberg leaves the interpretation up to the viewers, who must examine their own beliefs and emotions.Well-balanced Spielberg - BlackSheep
It is a gray day. Avner (Eric Bana) meets with his former employer from the Israeli government in a park in Brooklyn, New York. He has nearly lost his mind to paranoia, always wondering when someone will end the hunt and finally find him. During his unofficial employment with the Mossad, Avner headed a team of five men whose mission was to track down the members of Palestinian terrorist group, Black September. This group was behind the tragedy at the 1972 Olympic games in Munich, Germany, where 11 Israeli athletes were murdered after being held hostage. It has become abundantly clear that he can and likely will suffer the same fate as the men on his hit list and he needs reassurance that he can at the very least trust the people of his homeland, the people that trusted this mission to him in the first place. His former liaison, Ephraim (Geoffrey Rush), dismisses his concerns, allowing Avner a moment to breathe. Ephraim then declines Avner’s invitation to break bread and two large buildings in the background of the frame catch your eye while Avner stands still and puzzled. These two buildings are the twin towers destroyed on September 11, 2001 in what has been described as one of the most devastating terrorist attacks ever to take place on American soil. This moment, I apologize, comes at the very end of the film and stretches the issue of justification past the Palestinian/Israeli conflict, finding Spielberg asking his audience if there is ever any true resolution to any ongoing violent conflict between nations or between peoples.Extraordinary! - Riverdancer
This is undoubtedly one of the most human films I have ever seen. It may seem strange to say this in the face of so much inhumanity, but what I found extraordinary about this Spielberg masterpiece is his ability to show us personal tragedy when we think there could be no greater tragedy than being confronted with evil; evil that we often perpetrate against those of our own kind.
I respect Spielberg's courage for wishing to present the aftermath of this Olympic massacre in the way he did. Although he took poetic license with George Jason's book, Vengeance, which inspired this film and which I have read, by including a conversation between Avner (Eric Bana) and a Palestinian in the stairs of a safeway house, I think it was important he do so in his quest to put a human face on what must be called a terrible business.
It is perhaps inevitable to wish for retribution, but, no matter how we look at it, retribution always exacts a price, and a very personal one, from those who must engage in it.
Can a man of conscience kill, even if he thinks himself justified in doing so, without remorse? I think not. We are not animals, after all, otherwise why would we have such deep respect for those, like Gandhi, or Mother Teresa who lived their lives with compassion.
So, why is this film important? Because it examines how someone, who could be any of us because he must do what he must do, must reconcile violence with his personal aspirations to peace of mind.
Eric Bana deserves an oscar for his portrayal of a man, who because of the deep tenderess he has for his wife and infant child, appears a gentle soul, and, yet, seems capable of the kind of violence demanded by the retribution his patriotic duty imposes upon him.
That is what makes this film so powerful. In war, of any kind, it is all too easy to forget that we are always dealing with human beings. Munich by Steven Spielberg never lets us forget it.
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Spielberg operating at his peak — an exceptionally made, provocative and vital film for our times - moviemonger
A film of uncommon depth, intelligence, and sensitivity, Munich defies easy labeling. Watching the movie is like reading a top-notch espionage thriller by Le Carre or Deighton. Yet, at the same time, this is a visual experience. The moral and ethical elements, ...Well-balanced Spielberg - BlackSheep
It is a gray day. Avner (Eric Bana) meets with his former employer from the Israeli government in a park in Brooklyn, New York. He has nearly lost his mind to paranoia, always wondering when someone will end the hunt and finally find him. During his unofficial ...Extraordinary! - Riverdancer
This is undoubtedly one of the most human films I have ever seen. It may seem strange to say this in the face of so much inhumanity, but what I found extraordinary about this Spielberg masterpiece is his ability to show us personal tragedy when we think there ...