Munich
Steven Spielberg looks at both sides of an issue
but still gets in trouble
"Munich" is the story of the kidnapping and murders
of 11 Israeli athletes participating in the 1972 Olympic Games in Munich and the
Israeli response--the create an unofficial death squad to hunt down 11 of the
Palestinian organizers of the massacre.
The film centers on Avner (Eric Bana), a one-time body guard to Israeli prime minister Golda Meir, who is tapped to lead a team of five men who work on hunting down the Black September organizers, and then killing them. They start with a shooting but then move on to more elaborate remote-bombing schemes. The victims are erudite, sophisticated, and even likeable, which some critics have turned into an argument that the film is anti-Israel. But then again, the same adjectives could be used for the Israelis, or the Frenchmen who sell information to the highest bidder.
The core of the film is that killing slowly dehumanizes you (this was also at the core of the Israeli-made film "Walk on Water"). As the body counts mount on both sides, as Israel also has official responses in terms of bombing PLO camps, and the PLO counterattacks, etc., the viewer, seeing this story 30 years later, realizes that neither side has actually won much of anything. Israel and the Palestinians are still at it, despite peace talks.
What interesting about this film is that any two warring factions could be plugged into this situation and the story would be the same--IRA vs. UK, Tamil Tigers vs. Singhalese buddhists in Sri Lanka, Shia vs. Sunni in Iraq. Of course, the story of the creation of Israel is rooted in the Holocaust, an event unparalleled in history. Clearly, the Jews have suffered years of oppression and anti-Semitic abuse and killings, culminating in the Nazis' "Final Solution." What makes the film particularly Jewish is the notion that finally, the Jews have one little corner of the world that's theirs.
Golda Meir, in the film (but possibly not in real life) says that nations are often challenged to compromise their values. Like many nations, wars, and quieter secret initiatives, work to ensure a public sense of security at the expense of human life and the very ideals its citizens hold dear.
Needless to say, Spielberg has taken on a big issue, and is getting hit from all sides, but it's good that he's put the issues into some sort of dialogue, instead of making it "too big to discuss."
The film centers on Avner (Eric Bana), a one-time body guard to Israeli prime minister Golda Meir, who is tapped to lead a team of five men who work on hunting down the Black September organizers, and then killing them. They start with a shooting but then move on to more elaborate remote-bombing schemes. The victims are erudite, sophisticated, and even likeable, which some critics have turned into an argument that the film is anti-Israel. But then again, the same adjectives could be used for the Israelis, or the Frenchmen who sell information to the highest bidder.
The core of the film is that killing slowly dehumanizes you (this was also at the core of the Israeli-made film "Walk on Water"). As the body counts mount on both sides, as Israel also has official responses in terms of bombing PLO camps, and the PLO counterattacks, etc., the viewer, seeing this story 30 years later, realizes that neither side has actually won much of anything. Israel and the Palestinians are still at it, despite peace talks.
What interesting about this film is that any two warring factions could be plugged into this situation and the story would be the same--IRA vs. UK, Tamil Tigers vs. Singhalese buddhists in Sri Lanka, Shia vs. Sunni in Iraq. Of course, the story of the creation of Israel is rooted in the Holocaust, an event unparalleled in history. Clearly, the Jews have suffered years of oppression and anti-Semitic abuse and killings, culminating in the Nazis' "Final Solution." What makes the film particularly Jewish is the notion that finally, the Jews have one little corner of the world that's theirs.
Golda Meir, in the film (but possibly not in real life) says that nations are often challenged to compromise their values. Like many nations, wars, and quieter secret initiatives, work to ensure a public sense of security at the expense of human life and the very ideals its citizens hold dear.
Needless to say, Spielberg has taken on a big issue, and is getting hit from all sides, but it's good that he's put the issues into some sort of dialogue, instead of making it "too big to discuss."
Posted: Fri - December 30, 2005 at 01:33 AM
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Published On: Jun 20, 2009 07:03 PM
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Published On: Jun 20, 2009 07:03 PM