Munich

Steven Spielberg has added another high quality entertaining film to his resume in the newly released DVD, Munich.

Munich is a historical suspense thriller based on the book Vengance written by George Jonas.

Most people when they heard about the film, me included thought the film was about a group of Arab terrorists breaking into the Olympic village and executing 11 Israeli athletes while the whole world watched.

I was 8 years old when this occurred and do remember seeing film of the gunman on the balcony.

As a rabid movie fan, that story did not intrigue me. I, along with the whole world, knew the ending.

Thankfully, this is not the premise of the film, but the backdrop. The films scope and plot centers on the Israeli response to the massacre of their athletes, specifically, the tracking down and assassination of all who were involved in the planning of the Olympic raid in Munich.

The film starts with the Terrorists braking into building 31. The Israeli athletes were held in this dorm building. For there we see the panic and two deaths that occur at the onslaught.

After the scene, we break away to television sets in Israel. Crowds gather round and we see some live footage of the man on the balcony from the original raid. We are also shown, the actual live update from ABC sports. This is a good mix of actual footage that brings back memories for those of us who saw it live.

From that sequence, the movie jumps ahead to the conclusion of the raid. All 11 Israelis were killed. Spielberg introduces each one with a photo and a name. Spielberg is trying to introduce the human element to the story, which he does successfully repeatedly.

From here we go to a meeting room with the Prime Minister at the time, Golda Meir (played forcefully by Lynn Cohen), she also looks like her. At least from what my eight-year-old memory banks recall. We see Gold Meirer in a meeting room, debating with her advisors. She has a well acted, thought provoking monologue about society, civilization and peace. The interesting part of the scene is the reality of decisions political leaders around the world need to make regarding the taking of human life. It is a heavy burden to bear. I am glad my biggest decisions are which blog I wish to write today.

From there we meet the main character, Avner (played by Eric Bana), who has been called to a meet with the Chief of the Mossad, two Generals and Prime Minister Golda Meir. Here Avner is asked to take up a dangerous assignment. Track down the people that were responsible for the raid and kill them all. They give him one day to decide.

Well, he decides to take the assignment and then begins his journey into the dark world of black ops. Avners character and his mental state are explored thoroughly thru out the film. As he begins his journey, we are taken back to the horrifying events in Munich.

Spielberg is showing the character reinforcing his justification for the assignment he has undertaken. He will do this periodically throughout the film.

When he arrives in Europe, we pick up a scene at his safe house where we meet the rest of his squad. In the scene, the new assassins are having dinner and coming to grips with their newfound profession. They ask each other if they have done this before or had training. They are surprised to find out about their real professions. One of the squad remarks, It is strange to think of oneself as an assassin to which Avner replies think of yourself as something else then.

We continually are exploring the mental state of the death squad. How do they mentally deal with their job?

Later in the film, Avner meets an Arab named Ali and they debate the Israeli/ Palestinian conflict. Ali is wonderful in this scene. A passionate well-acted performance leaves the viewer sad about the whole Middle East mess.

In between scenes of the character development, we are taken on crudely unprofessional assassinations. This is the main story line, and we follow the group thru seven assassinations.

During the film, Spielberg likes to help us get to know the characters as he did in Saving Private Ryan. You are brought into the human element of each person, before he meets his demise.

Munich is a fast paced action film that is very violent. Eric Banna (Avner) delivers a solid performance that connects with the viewer.

The film is rated R for strong graphic violence and there is some nudity. I recommend the film because it tells a good story. A story about political ideals in the 1970s that people felt justify murder. This film is universal. This writers believes the worlds political ideologies have not changed any and we are not any more civilized now 34 years later.