Munich felt like a film that one would watch in History or English class and then write an essay about. There were lots of themes throughout the movie such as family, home, loyalty, and morality – all in relation to the Israeli reaction to the assassination of 11 of their athletes at the Olympics games in Munich in 1972.

Munich is the celebrity name of the event, but the real story is based on Operation Wrath of God. Think of it as a movie about 9/11 but the story is really about the hunt for Osama Bin Laden. In this “historical fiction”, the Israeli government detaches itself, but funds a cell of operatives to assassinate Palestinians who (may have) had a hand in the Munich killings. It is not all talk and philosophical pondering, as the planning and the assassinations are shown on screen.

Munich was nominated for 5 Oscars, including Best Picture, but didn’t win any of them. I also did not think highly of Munich and would give it only three out of five stars. The problem for me is that I am not passionate nor involved with the Israel/PLO struggle and thus cannot connect with the characters. Secondly, without the emotional entrenchment, the deep, philosophical arguments of what each culture is doing is unfounded. I would like a solution, but it is already fairly obvious that Munich and its response has not worked.

Posted by Kevin in Blogs Tags: israel, moviereview