Über Spielberg

Rating: 9/10 (8 February 2006)

Steven Spielberg's "Munich" depicts the events starting from the assassination of Israeli athletes by Palestinian terrorists during the 1972 Munich Olympics. Mossad worker Avner (Eric Bana) is called to lead a group of five - getaway man Steve (new Bond Daniel Craig), cleanup man Carl (Ciarán Hinds), forger Hans (Hanns Zischler), and bomb maker Robert (Mathieu Kassovitz) - and avenge the massacre by hunting down and killing those behind the Black September attack. Aiding them from tracking the terrorists who have scattered across Europe and the Middle East is an informant named Louis, even as they find themselves targeted of assassination.
What is vengeance's worth? When is it going to end? In every war, those questions are easily generated yet hardly answered. That is, in essence, what Spielberg's latest film is about. Through its building of tension, Spielberg presents the themes of truths and paranoia through a group of hired killers, who, find themselves hunted as well. Sure there were controversies but that's enough about it.
The film itself is a visual delight. Cinematographer Janusz Kaminski, a staple of Spielberg films, sets most of the film in a dreamy setting with warm tones and low contrast (I am reminded of my "sunsoft" filter), while the score of John Williams, another Spielberg favorite, works superbly in many scenes as well.
It's not the best film of the director, though, as there were times the movie feels slow and lags at times. But the portrayal of every murder and assassination especially during the tense opening scene, and the flashbacks showing the brutal killings of the athletes, is altogether stunning. It is this force and soul that carries the film.
The actors portraying the members of the group are superb, Ayelet Zorer is brilliant as the Avner's wife, and Mathieu Amalric brings a sense of fear to his character Louis. The movie, however, obviously belongs to Bana. The former Hulk brilliantly showcases his emotional intensity and almost every scene works with Bana on screen.
"Munich" is a gripping film that portrays the morality of the event in an unobtrusive way. It isn't perfect but you have to give it to Spielberg for having the guts to film it, and doing it in a way only he probably can.