An even handed movie about land and revenge

Rating: 8/10 (25 December 2005)

Two good, fair movies have been made this year about the eternal Israeli/Palestinian war. I prefer "Paradise Now," a tense-low budget, no-stars movie, that portrays two young Palestinian suicide bombers. "Munich" is about the cycle of revenge and response caused by the massacre of Israeli athletes at the 1972 Olympics. It's a compelling movie, as unpleasant and uncomfortable as is the subject.
Spielberg portrays an Israeli hit squad that gradually loses its moral certainty as assassination piles on assassination. A key moment in the film is when when a young, idealistic Palestinian terrorist talks of the need of a homeland -- much as Israelis talk -- and the dawning realization on the assassin's leader, Eric Bana, that not much in the way of moral space separates the terrorists from the hit squad.
Unlike others, I did not care for the omnipresent "French connection" in the movie. One is asked to believe that an old man on a farm seemingly has all the information in the world at hand, including the addresses and bios of Palestinian terrorists. This was a cheap plot trick in my opinion, a quick and easy, but hardly credible way for the hit squad to find terrorists. Better would have been a gritty search, blind alleys, and a mistake or two along the way.
The obvious message of the movie is that violence begets violence and a better way must be found. Spielberg doesn't suggest that better way. I won't bore the reader with my solution, but attempts to look at the Palestinian/Israeli problem in a even-handed manner is a good trend.
Smallchief