Vengeance is mine, says Golda Meir (Lynn Cohen) in Steven Spielberg’s taut political thriller Munich.
Meir was reacting to the September 1972 murders of 11 Israeli athletes at the hands of Palestinian assassins during the Summer Olympics in Munich.
Meir felt diplomacy was not the answer for such an unconscionable act of terrorism so she gave permission for an elite team of Israeli assassins to strike back at the men who had orchestrated the massacre.
In the opening sequence of Munich, Spielberg recalls the murders by blending actual news footage with dramatic re-enactments.
It’s extremely effective and plunges the viewer into a dark moment of history.
This is the starting point for Spielberg’s film which is a tale of revenge. Because the members of the elite team either died or were forbidden to reveal their identities, what Spielberg gives us is basically speculation.
This is probably why he chose to present the story as if it were a 1970s spy thriller instead of a documentary.
It works remarkably well recalling films such as Day of the Jackal and The Bourne Identity. Spielberg achieves chilling levels of suspense and tension as the team members create and plant bombs or take down a suspect at close range.
Eric Bana’s Avner, the man chosen to lead the team, is one conflicted soldier and becomes even more confused and hesitant with each killing.
It’s a powerful performance which helps ground Munich in a terrifying reality. Blood begets blood and each time Avner’s team kills someone there is retaliation. Eventually it is clear there are contracts out on Avner and his team members pushing the suspense to yet another level.
In an attempt to make the politics in Munich appear more balanced, Spielberg stages a scene in which Avner and a young Palestinian discuss why Palestinians are so adamant about establishing a homeland. It’s a sobering scene especially considering why both men are in Greece at that time.
Munich is too long by at least 20 minutes. The pacing begins to lag making the viewer long for the kind of exhausting momentum Spielberg achieved in Schindler’s List and Saving Private Ryan.
Munich may not be a great film but it towers about so much of what 2005 had to offer.
