Munich

This was one of those movies that shows the struggle between doing what one must in order to serve justice, and following the rational course of action for peace. It's an extremely serious and dramatic movie, with a great deal of tension throughout; however if you're not into social and political commentary then this is not a movie that you should see.

The film opens at the 1972 Munich Olympic games, with the violent kidnapping of 11 members of the Israeli Olympic team by the Palestinian terrorist group Black September. The events over the next day and night are shown with actual news footage from all over the world, ending with the murder of all 11 athletes during the gunfight at the Munich airport. In response to the Palestinian attacks, the Israeli government hires one of the Prime Minister's former bodyguards, Avnir (Eric Bana) to secretly exact vengeance upon all Palestinians who were involved in planning the terrorist attack. Avnir is given four team members, each with his own specialty, to assist him in these missions, and once all of the names on the list have been eliminated, the team will be allowed to return home. Avnir locates his targets with the assistance of a rather shady Frenchman, Louis (Mathieu Amalric), who says that he can find anyone on the list as long as Avnir is not affiliated with any governments. Each time they locate a target, they form a carefully planned strategy for his elimination, and complete it with varying degrees of success. As they kill more and more names from their original list, the Israeli government provides them with new names as well, and Avnir gradually begins to question the effectiveness of his mission as well as his own shrinking humanity.

The movie was consistently engaging, and I felt very tense throughout most of it. The continual flashbacks to the Black September kidnapping and eventual murder of the Israeli athletes were by far the most powerful and difficult parts of the movie, as the plight of the terrified and helpless athletes is forced upon the audience. Director Steven Spielberg doesn't necessarily take Israel's side completely, however, as whatever vengeance is taken serves only to escalate the tensions between Israel and Palestine, which inevitably results in more attacks and more innocent blood. Avnir's inner conflict throughout the movie serves to demonstrate this struggle, which is shared by most of his team as well--the initially overpowering need for vengeance becomes diluted with the dawning realization that no matter how many Palestinian terrorists they kill, more will always rise to replace them. As they begin to wonder whether their mission will ever end, they are suddenly confronted with the fact that they themselves are being hunted as well.

Mostly, this movie seemed to be a commentary on the nature of vengeance as well as the need to protect one's family and homeland. Avnir, like the audience, struggles with his actions, wondering whether Israel is correct in compromising its values in order to punish the terrorists by taking their lives.

All in all, I thought the movie was quite good, although some might find it a little boring in many parts. While the action scenes were extremely gripping and full of tension, this movie is mostly an observation of our own humanity. It is certainly a powerful one, and relevant to today's political environment, but if you aren't into the "man's struggle with his own conscience" movies, then I would recommend skipping this one. Honestly though, I think almost anyone would really like this movie, especially given the current state of affairs, so I would strongly recommend it to all.