Feb 12 2006
Munich
- Eric Bana - Avner
- Daniel Craig - Steve
- Ciarán Hinds - Carl
- Mathieu Kassovitz - Robert
- Hanns Zischler - Hans
Based on the events that followed the terrorist attack on the Munich Olympic Games in 1972, this film has a lot of political baggage. There are those who see it as an example of anti-semitism. There are those who think it shows too much favour to the zionist cause. Whatever. Should it be examined based on topic, or on the quality of the film?
The film itself did keep my attention the whole way through. At just over 160 minutes it is a little long, but never overly so. Leaving aside the political discussions I thought the film did a good job of capturing Avner as a character. The rest of the team as less well-defined, but their roles re mosr of supporting and assisting Avner rather then as characters in their own right. That is not to say that they are uninteresting, or that they are 2D, just that their motivations and feelings are not given as much weight as Avners.
I thought that the story itself was well told; the tension surrounding the bombings/shhoting builds nicely. There is the mysterious French group to wonder about, and to help create a sense of paranoia and doubt.
As I said, their are those, on both sides, who will claim that this film is biased. But I don’t think it is. We are clearly shown the violence and random deaths portrayed by the Palestinian terrorists, we are shown the Israeli’s need to fight back and protect their home. It isn’t as though one side or the other is painted evil, though perhaps that is what some of the critics wanted?
The most telling scene in the film, for me, was the one between Avner and the PLO terrorist, where they discuss Israel. Avner, pretending to be a German socialist extremist of some description defends Israel, and its right to exist. And in the course of their discussion we see what it is that people really want. A home to call their own.
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Tags: 1970s, 1972, 8 Stars, assassin, based on true story, Ciarán Hinds, Daniel Craig, drama, Eric Bana, Hanns Zischler, Mathieu Kassovitz, Munich, murder, terrorism