‘Inspired by real events’ is a tag often adopted by lacklustre
film
producers to give their film more gravitas, more depth, give it
a more controversial slant. If there was ever a topic weighty enough
not to resort to a cheap marketing ruse, it is the Israel / Palestine
conflict, it is the media-squall that was the 1972 Olympic Massacre,
and it is Steven Spielberg’s Munich.
Yet being ‘inspired by real events’ was in no way an easy ride for Spielberg’s film; considering the ‘hot-potato’ subject matter, Munich was immediately accused of misrepresentation and inaccuracy, so much so it threatened to debunk the film before it began to show in theatres. Munich’s general release date was purposely scheduled to sit alongside the Oscars 2006 awards, but the level of controversy surrounding the film at that moment may have caused the academy to opt for a lesser film (Crash) as ‘Best Picture’.
Controversies and Oscar near misses aside, Munich is another example of the duplicity of director Steven Spielberg; 35 years in the game and he seems only to become more willing to take risks, more willing to confound and more willing to shock. There are many moments in Munich where you think: “This man made E.T.?” Adapting and expanding on the controversial (there’s that word again) novel ‘Vengeance’ by George Jonas; Munich follows the events subsequent to the 1972 Munich Olympic Massacre in which 8 Palestinian terrorists, later referred to as Black Septemberists, took 11 Israeli athletes hostage. After a failed operation by German Police to recover the hostages, the Black Septemberists exectued all of the hostages.
In a smart move by Spielberg, he uses stock footage and the genuine recorded news broadcasts during the massacre; reciting terrible déjà vu for all those witness to the broadcast first hand. “All hell has broken loose…” informs ABC’s news reader, and eventually: “…they’re all gone.” Again, to Spielberg’s credit, he decides not to shock audiences with a vivid re-enactment of the original massacre, instead he inter cuts the most shocking scenes with the moments of doubt, fear, and anguish of the retaliating Israeli Mossad assassins, sent by their Prime Minister Golda Meir as the ‘Wrath of God’. The massacre acts as the anchor to the assassins’ motivations, trying to justify their own ‘work’ obligations with that of the original Black September attack.
Led by Avner (Eric Bana), the Israeli assassins shed their identity and are given an unlimited cash flow in order pay informants, buy weapons / explosives, and ultimately to murder the men responsible for planning Black September. Avner (Bana) is unsure as to why he has been chosen, and he and the rest of his team slowly unravel as the body count rises and their sense of righteousness becomes obscure. Avner claims at one point: “We cannot afford to be decent anymore”. Inevitably, the theme of ‘family’ becomes a focal point for Munich; there’s one heart-stopping scene with a C4-charged telephone and a young girl, but the biggest transition is the assassins themselves. Carl (Ciarán Hinds) frequently notes the dilemma of avenging murder with murder, and Avner’s black eyes, which at first seems sprightly, begin to show the emotional burden which he is carrying: the longer he is away from family, the less human he becomes. The Black Septemberists themselves are also portrayed (albeit briefly) as humans, as prone to the suffering and conflict as their would-be assassins.
As a ‘thriller’ in its own right, (although this is hardly John Grisham territory) Spielberg paints every scene with a dour relish; light hovers amidst thick dust, scenes are emotionally veiled and complex, it’s a nod to the gritty realism of the 70s auteurist drama. If Munich has a fault it is that its kinetic scenes and emotional complexity can lead to an ambiguous reading, often resulting in confusion both to the audience and the characters. Yet this could also be taken as Munich’s strongest point, Spielberg is willing to push his audience to darker, more challenging areas than with his popcorn affairs (i.e. the disappointing War of the Worlds). Backed with Tony Kushner’s superb screenplay and excellent acting all around (again from Eric Bana); Munich is starkly intelligent, it is brooding, challenging and as first-rate as American cinema gets.