Come home, Avner.

Rating: 9/10 (17 February 2006)

Heavy Spielberg. After taking a walk in the park with Catch Me If You Can and The Terminal and pumping up some energy with War of the Worlds, Spielberg again conjures up heavy material in this movie about conscience, revenge (hence the title of the book it was adopted from) and the human condition in relation to it. Spielberg may have taken liberties in some areas, as a filmmaker he has done that in Catch Me if You Can or anyone for that matter is entitled to artistic liscence, but he captures the reality of the TRAUMA involved in each of the main players. Bana does a terrific job as do those who play his team, and also his wife. One thing I'd also like to point out is that Spielberg and DP Kaminski always always manage to photograph movies BEAUTIFULLY with an aesthetic that's both atmospheric and at times chaos-inducing such as some freestyle albeit carefully calculated hand-held and choreographed sequences. Safe to say that beyond a doubt Spielberg is a master in of biomechanics with respect to blocking and cinematography. You will also see him fabricate the most appropriate visual sensations during some of the most tense sequences such as the under the bed bombing sequence, you will momentarily see human appendage left over and rotating from a ceiling fan amidst Bana going through demolition seeing to it that his sexually active neighbors are safe after the mishap. And there are moments of cliffhanger and tension such as the telephone-bomb sequence. I need not say more, but that is one moment in the cinema when I actually said "No!!!", proving that this movie does manage to unnerve when it gets its moments albeit it is a drama by essence. MUNICH does not shy away from violence, but it is a movie that is sort of anti-violence, once again it echoes an innate ability to show compassion and remorse. This is also one aspect where Spielberg's talent and maturity shine as he always depicts his pieces in context of the human condition his movie preceding MUNICH may have been scorned for being a bombast marred by mediocre storytelling yet in that movie I will say it has excelled in portraying the human condition. John Williams, as he has done many times with Mr. Spielberg before showcases versatility and a different type of music, has avery Middle-eastern feel yet deviously and subliminally propulsive that has repetitive motifs of fear, anxiety. And the screen writing? As with most of the best in the art of adaptation of true to life events, the use of temporal displacement is deployed. You'll know what I mean when you see the delay of exposition and progression during the Olympic Massacre. It is flashed back all throughout instead of being depicted all at once. (Would have marred the pacing and flow that way), so I commend the screenwriters as well. While many will be irritated by this expected Spielberg routine: YES the movie ends somewhat low key it has moments of suspense but it is more histrionic and probably this isn't to everyone's taste. In the POV department, who are we supposed to be rooting for? It's instinctive to say Mr. Bana, yes that is a fact but ultimately we are supposed to be examining conscience and our own morales. The movie has also a lot of subliminal portrayals of these issues in society and in our lives, from a lady discussing Karl Marx's theories on right and wrong with respect to situational ethics and philosophy, to temptation of adultery and SEXpionage rolled into one. And the remorse and maybe even confusion that Mr. Bana's character feels, you will feel too in the end. It's NOT a feel-good movie but it's GREAT. What is also visible is Avner's character arc, we see him being dismissive about assassination many times repetitively, even telling Carl his team mate to NOT think about it. And also in the dinner table when discussions escalate on the replacement of the slain leaders. His 180 turn around takes place towards the end, and it is depicted by Spielberg carefully with a lot of gusto and emotion. From the juxtapousition of a love scene to a graphic and ultra histrionic recollection of the actual murders of the athletes. It ends with Geoffrey Rush (also someone to be commended in his performance here) telling Avner that what it was really all about was COMING HOME or the essence of home; but closely regarding Avner's final experiences in the dreaded field op, was it really about that? That is the recurring theme of the movie, would you still consider or would you reconsider right and wrong? Why do I cut my nails? They grow back. Grade A-