Munich (2005) A movie to provoke feelings.

Rating: 10/10 (21 August 2006)

I watched this movie with a certain hesitation. 1. Did I want to be reminded of this event in view of our current world situation, I was 19 when this happened and remember the news from the the time. 2. What has Hollywood done with this story, is it simplified, glorified etc.
I took the chance on two things, 1. Steven Speilburg, no more need be said and 2. Eric Bana, here is an actor who can give some serious credibility to a character and he does.
The movie is violent of course, the story is about violence and as Speilburg explains before the movie, it is trying to explore the ramifications of using counter violence and the pressure this puts on the people involved. This point comes out strongly as the story unfolds, to where we see the main character becoming a man haunted by his own ghosts and questioning his superior's' motives. Not unlike present times and current political situations. Although the story is dated, 30 years ago, it made me ask some serious questions. Did this event in fact escalate the terrorism to today's situations, did it actually achieve anything, apart from revenge and so on. If any thing this movie really provoked in me a new way of looking at current issues, and seeing the similarities from 30 years ago and now. As I watched this movie I found myself experiencing many different emotions, to mention one scene, where Eric Bana's character is talking on the staircase at the safe house with the PLO member Ali about their supposed ideologies. Many poignant points are made through out the movie, and while I found it to be politically evenhanded, there are still many questions which could be aimed at both sides of the conflict. The last scene in particular, with the skyline of New York in the background and the final conversation really left me feeling shaken by this movie. I actually watched all the credits and listened to the music until the screen went black, mostly because I felt too numbed to move and it was not due to the hard theater seats, I watched this on DVD in the comfort of my own chair at home.
I feel that this movie has definitely delivered the goods, although I believe that those goods will be interpreted in many ways by any one who watches this movie. I know this movie was made in 2005, however here in Japan it has just been released on DVD (8/21), taking into account recent and current world events, the timing for release of this movie if anything gives it a bit more punch.