Film Review

"Every civilization must make compromises with its values," is how the leaders of Israel justify sending a covert assassination team to Europe after the deaths of 11 Israeli Olympic athletes, at the hands of Black September, a Palestinian terrorist group. At least that's how they justify it in Steven Spielberg's movie rendition of the tale. It is a fantastic film; the right amount of tension and release.

I find Spielberg too heavy-handed with either syrup or violence in most cases, but here he has it just right. Eric Bana plays the leader of a small group of ex-Mossad agents who have been sent to Europe to find and kill the terrorists responsible for the Munich deaths. The group travel around Europe almost bungling their way though the reprisal deaths--they aren't full time assassins and it shows. But as the story progresses they become more and more accustomed to a life of covert activity and murder. It is not a pretty picture and Spielberg does a great job of capturing the inner conflict they all feel.

Apparently he has been criticized for attempting to humanize the Palestinians in the story, but the fact is, they are humans--no one, however immoral they may be, is without some trace of humanity in them, even if it's buried so deep it is seldom seen. I think that what Spielberg is trying to explore in his movie is how a life committed to violence in the service of any cause, can bury that humanity under a layer of justification and callous disregard for human life.

The Israeli agents believe they are on a just mission, but it takes a huge toll on them all and turns them into the very people they are attempting to eliminate. They question the validity of their mission, because it seems that every person they kill is replaced by someone even worse.

Munich is that very rare film; a peace movie. One that takes a very difficult situation and attempts to say that violence in the service of any cause is doomed to keep the world locked into an endless cycle of retribution.