Everyone's Looking for A Place to Call Home

Rating: 8/10 (15 March 2006)

I had many doubts when I knew Spielberg was making a movie about what happened in the 1972 Munich Olympics. The subject matter is controversial, the middle east conflict is not solved yet, and I felt the project was rushed, as Spielberg began shooting the picture only 6 months before it was released. Anyway, after seeing the film, I'm happy to say that Spielberg has proved me wrong.
Munich tells the story of a secret Israeli squad assigned to track down and kill 11 Palestinians suspected to have planned the Munich attack. The squad is lead by Avner (Eric Bana, in an amazing performance). At first, Avner is excited about the mission, because his bosses and his mother kept telling him he's doing a great thing for Israel. But slowly, he starts losing his sanity (spends his nights looking for bombs under his bed), his friends (3 of his teammates are killed during the mission), his home (he tells his wife to move to Brooklyn so he could see her more), and most importantly, his humanity (during the last assassination, he enjoyed humiliating the victim).
The last assassination in particular was a wake-up call for Avner. He's discovered that he's not only wandering away from the planned mission, as the last 2 people he killed had nothing to do with what happened in Munich, but he also realized that no matter how many Palestinians he kills, these people will be replaced, and in most cases, the replacements are even more violent than the predecessors.
That was one of the few problems I had with the film. I thought someone like Avner, so terrified during the first assassination, that one of his teammates had to pull the trigger instead of him, would start questioning what he's doing earlier than what happened in the picture. In the film, he started doubting his mission after the 8th assassination. Another flaw would be some cheesy scenes. For example, during one part in the movie, the Isreali squad have to share a room with some Jordanian bodyguards. They almost have a fight over what music to play; Arabian or Israeli, anyway, they agree on playing some American jazz, and everyone in the room starts laughing. I know this was supposed to be a metaphor, but I thought it was a bit silly.
These minor flaws aside, the film is fantastic. I really liked Spielberg's portrayal of the Palestinians. They're not the bearded, stupid guys maniacally shouting "Allah Akbar" we've seen in tens of movies before. No, Spielberg's Palestinians are lawyers, teachers, poets, and family men. The same can be said about Avner. He's a loving husband who cried when he spoke to his newborn on the phone. Yet, you will fully understand why these supposedly ordinary characters would start killing other people. They're all fighting for a justified reason; All the characters in Munich are looking for a place to call home. I also liked how the film didn't present a solution to the problem, and frankly, there's no solution for the middle east conflict right now. Unfortunately, this circle of violence will keep growing bigger and bigger.
Technically speaking, the film is very good. I thought it was one of the best films to portray the 70's. From the sets, to the costumes, to the haircuts, even to the grainy picture, everything is pitch perfect. The assassinations were well executed, shocking, and very violent (beware, this is a hard R). And although the film is 160 minutes, I was not bored for one second. John Williams' score is amazing, and I'm not surprised it was nominated for an academy award.
So, I'd recommend Munich. It's Spielberg's prayer for peace, and it's a well made one.