Very Relevant to Our Times

Rating: 10/10 (1 March 2006)

Steven Spielberg's latest film begins with a terrorist attack on innocent civilians that is witnessed throughout the world. Both the families of the victims and those of the terrorists are affected, and a nation is left with the question of how to respond. Sound familiar? The year is 1972, and a group of terrorists, who have come to be known as Black September, have kidnapped and killed 11 Israeli athletes and their coaches participating in the 1972 Munich Olympic Games. This prompts Golda Meir, Israel's prime minister, to call a cabinet meeting in which the decision is made to assemble a team of elite assassins headed by Meir's former bodyguard; a gentle family man "with butcher's hands" whose wife is expecting their first child.
The team includes people who are experts in different areas of espionage. Robert is an expert in bombs. Until he was given this assignment, he worked taking them apart. Hans is a forgery expert; it is his job to keep the real identities of the group members secret with falsified documents. Then there are those who do not seem to have any particular talent, but are needed to do things like clean up after hits (i.e. Carl), or look really cool in sun glasses and add a touch of glamor to undercover work (i.e. Steve, who appropriately enough is played by the newest James Bond).
As the body counts start rising, Spielberg has some of his characters question whether their mission is really the best way that they can serve Israel and their own humanity. Robert questions whether killing people goes against what Judaism stands for. He reminds Avner that the Jews are a "righteous" people, and that is what makes them "beautiful." Avner questions the purpose of killing one group of terrorists, only to have them replaced by a group far more dangerous to Israel.
As a whole, I found this film very thought provoking. However, like "Shindler's List" and "Saving Private Ryan," it is also extremely violent. Spielberg, like Mel Gibson, is not a director to give the audience much relief from painful images. A worthy film, which deserves its nomination as best picture, with a cast dominated by strong actors, with no one giving a bad performance. The only criticism that I had of the film was that it may be a little too long, or it at least felt that way. As you can imagine, when the plot involves the location and killing of several antagonists, there is a tendency for repetition, although Spielberg somewhat avoids that by making each killing unique (as morbid as that sounds!).