Munich Review
by Jerry Saravia (faust668 AT msn DOT com)February 9th, 2007
MUNICH (2005)
Reviewed by Jerry Saravia
RATING: Three stars
Steven Spielberg's "Munich" is a troubling though affecting mess. It is definitely a good film but it lacks an overall center and contains affectless characters. It is also too long, occasionally disjointed and overdone. Despite that, "Munich" will keep you glued to the screen.
In the opening sequence set in 1972 during the Munich Olympics,
we see a group of Palestinian terrorists invade an apartment next to the Munich Olympic stadium. They hold a bunch of athletes hostage, and some are executed. Tragedy ensues as all the athletes and virtually all the terrorists, members of the Black September group, are killed. We see this as a mixture of reenactment and actual news footage - some of it is truly spellbinding in how seamless it all is.
The Prime Minister of Israel, Golda Meir (Lynn Cohen), has decided to take action, to exact revenge - essentially, to compromise their values like every other generation. She asks that a group of ex-Mossad members be assembled and assassinate those responsible for the tragedy. Avner (Eric Bana) is selected as the leader, a former bodyguard for Meir, and heads four teammates. There is Robert (Mathieu Kassovitz), a toymaker who is an expert at disarming bombs rather than building them; the bespectacled Carl (Ciaran Hinds) the Cleaner; Steve (Daniel Craig), the one who is eager to shoot to kill; and Hans (Hanns Zischler), the expert forger. Ephraim (Geoffrey Rush) denies this group their existence for protective reasons and claims they work for no one - the team has to travel under false names and passports. Their link to the Palestinian terrorists is through a Frenchman named Louis (Mathiew Amalric) whom they pay handsomely for information. The question becomes simple: if this Frenchman doesn't work for any government, then can he be trusted? More pointedly, can the Frenchman reveal the identities of the Mossad squad if the price is right? Although insinuated, Spielberg is not interested in going down that path.
"Munich" is essentially a tale of the dehumanizing effects of exacting political revenge when the values of a country are questioned
and compromised. Avner begins to suffer a debilitating blow to his conscience - is he doing the right thing by hunting down terrorists and killing them with bombs? Is he no different from the terrorists? Just when the job seems to be over, Avner grows more ambitious
- he wants to venture into unsafe territory by going after the leader, presumably hiding in Beirut. At the same time, his team grows wary of this mission. Violence begats violence and there seems no end to it. Peace is barely in the horizon. What makes it worse is that not all the targets are terrorists - some are affiliated or were involved with the Munich hostage plan.
"Munich" asks lots of questions but it lacks the pacing and rhythm of a genuine political thriller such as Costa-Gravas's "Z.". It is highly charged at times, and sometimes it feels ponderous, as did Hitchcock's "Torn Curtain." Some scenes are truly suspenseful, especially
the attempt to subvert a booby-trapped bomb inside an apartment where a little girl inadvertently answers the phone. A few bomb blasts keep us on alert, and there are some painfully violent executions. But I think Spielberg lost his way here a little. Once we realize how fruitless the whole righteous assassin scenario is, there is a little too much padding to push the film to an almost unwarranted two hour and forty minute running time. The padding comes in the form of far too many talky scenes, and
suspiciously not enough interaction between the team
members.
I did enjoy the scenes between Avner and Louis, however, and particularly Louis's father, Papa (Michael Londsdale, who can
make any film lively) who explains that Avner is not part of his family despite being invited to a hearty lunch at his manor.
There is something sinister and playful about Papa, a former member of the French Resistance - he and his son have access
to information on anyone. So, once again, one is left wondering
if they have any information on the Mossad. Remember that
Father and Son work for no one, or do they? Do they work
for the CIA? They can summon information for the right price - would they do the same for the Palestinians as they have for
the Israelis? I just felt more friction and unease in those scenes than almost anything else in "Munich."
Perhaps, "Munich" is not economical enough, not brazen enough
to be straightforward as a revenge film where morals and ethics amongst the supposed "heroes" of Israel slowly deteriorate.
There just doesn't seem to be enough depth to Avner or his team, not enough exposure of their idealized view of Israel (Avner decides to abandon Israel and move to Brooklyn). There is a powerful
scene where Avner discusses with a Palestinian terrorist what the concept of home is to a land that doesn't belong to the Palestinians - it is the only time that the "holy war" is ever mentioned.
As I said, "Munich" is occasionally effective and certainly morally ambiguous, the latter being a departure for the Spielman. I love the ending which ranks among Spielberg's best endings ever, including the subtle allusion to 9/11. But I don't think that "Munich" is meant for Spielberg - the material is too shaky, too contemplative and too morally complex for him to handle. It is overlong and overstuffed, trying too hard to be more intellectually moving as opposed to emotionally moving (similar problems plagued Spielberg's "Amistad"). I like the intellectual approach, the spirited speeches of patriotism or lack thereof,
but its overall sensibility is closer to Costa-Gravas or Oliver Stone than Spielberg.
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