Munich Review (Sunday Business Post)

Director: Stephen Spielberg
On September 5th 1972 the world was rocked by news that the supposed ‘Olympics of Peace and Joy’ had been host to a terrorist attack. During the night, Palestinian militants assaulted the Olympic village and took nine Israeli athletes and staff hostage. Hours later, a botched rescue mission by German police left all nine captives dead. Based on highly contested information, Steven Spielberg’s Munich follows the group of Israeli Mossad agents that were sent to assassinate those responsible for the atrocity.
Eric Bana plays Avner, ‘son of Israel’ and the leader of the secret splinter cell given the vengeful mission, Operation Wrath of God. Accompanied by a bomb-maker, a driver, a forger and cleaner, he travels Europe hunting down the names of the PLO operatives answerable. Cut off from official communication, the faction’s only contact with the Israeli Government is through commanding officer Ephraim (Geoffrey Rush). As they slowly work their way down the list, the group starts to question their own motives and the authenticity of their targets.
The phrase ‘Inspired by real events’ can be a minefield for a director. Sure, if the film is about a cop who splits his lottery ticket with a stranger you’re safe enough fudging the facts. But dramatising such a bitter memory while violence continues on the Gaza Strip? With slavery in Amistad and the Nazis in Schindler’s List, Spielberg at least had the luxury of definite past tense. Since shooting he has suffered death threats, rigorous condemnation from both sides and a suppression campaign from Ariel Sharon himself. It’s no wonder the film wasn’t made before now.
Politics aside for a moment, Munich is a compelling thriller made by a master. Spielberg is often credited with being a great storyteller, but he does it with technical genius. Under his guidance the camera plays many parts. When it lingers at the crime scene it becomes a conscience. In the handheld shots, it acts as conspirator, forcing the viewer into the role of uncomfortable accomplice.
Most remarkable is the recreation of the events at Munich. Ever the perfectionist, the director used film stock preserved from the seventies and chopped in original footage taken by news crews. He also cast real Israelis and Arabs for the scenes. That’s like getting Ian Paisley and Gerry Adams to act out Bloody Sunday. Munich’s tempo is carefully measured too; moments of psychological drama are complemented by suspenseful action.
In one scene, Avner has to share a safehouse with a PLO agent. Neither can afford to reveal their identity, so they both lie and the subject of the Israel-Palestine conflict comes up. Smoking cigarettes, they calmly argue the case for Jew and Arab on a balcony in Budapest. The cause of all the bloodshed is reduced to one exchange, yet the moment is played perfectly without melodrama.
As for the cast, Eric Bana has had a chequered couple of years since his awesome film debut in Chopper, but here puts in a solid performance. Belfast-born Ciaran Hinds and Daniel Craig are impressive as reluctant ‘cleaner’ and Zionist zealot respectively. In truth, the considerable cast of almost two hundred are, for all purposes, flawless.
Is there a message to Munich? There’s no doubt we’re to believe the Israeli response was justified. But as the story progresses, we see assured righteousness slip away as Avner turns from naïve patriot to weary paranoiac. In the end, Spielberg offers us no final jury’s verdict except that violence solves nothing. The film would have been spoilt any other way.
****