Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
A thoughtful and intense story of political violence., 7 Dec 2007
This is not, as the title suggests, a film which focusses on the terrorist attack which killed a large part of the Israeli team at the 1972 Olympic games. This event is featured only at the opening of the film, and later in short flashbacks. One member of the Olympic team is even played by his own son.
This is the semi-fictional story of an Israeli hit squad assembled to carry out revenge assassinations of targets across western Europe. The result is absorbing and convincing. Early 70's Israel and multiple European locations are recreated with glorious attention to detail; with accurate interiors, clothes and street scenes packed with period cars, lending the film and almost documentary feel at times.
The subject of assassination is treated with emotional realism too. The essentially civilised Israelis, all with 'normal' day jobs, although utterly convinced of their purpose find themselves increasingly traumatised by the murders they carry out, often against targets who appear quite harmless and decent, and frequently endangering the lives of innocent bystanders.
This is a film about the nature of political violence and its ultimate futility. There is a clear subtext which refers to the present-day post 9/11 situation and the 'war on terror'. This reveals itself, perhaps a little clumsily, in the closing shot of the film.
Overall, an excellent film, though with some weak spots. In particular, a sub-plot concerning a mysterious French mafia family, from which the agents buy information about their targets. This seems contrived and detracts from the otherwise successful realism of the rest of the story.
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
The tragedy of violence, 10 April 2009
As other reviewers have said, this is a profound and engaging film that appeals to both your head and heart. I won't repeat the plot, but it does a fine job of making both the Israelis and their targets human, fallible and empathetic. And in this lies the true tragedy of the middle east: that a man who can spent his time translating the Arabian Nights into Italian can also be a 'terrorist'.
In lots of ways I found this a difficult film to watch and that's as it should be. The violence, when it comes, is always profoundly shocking, as is the human cost. The deterioration of the moral sense is captured perfectly. But beyond all, the final question that the film poses is what should we do? Does condoning violence only serve to exacerbate it? If retribution only does the same then where are we to turn?
It reminded me in some ways of Sophocles' dramas, particularly Antigone where there is no right or wrong solution, only people caught up in impossible situations where the end-point is always death. And yet the very humanity in the struggle to negotiate the moral maze is itself hopeful and I think that's where Spielberg succeeds in leaving this film. So overall a very intense experience but one very worthwhile.
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Unpleasantly good, and very thought-provoking., 18 Sep 2008
The killings in Munich are spread out through this film, bringing grim inevitability and helpless, sick fascination together as a sort of background. The main story is of the response to those, with increasing complexity as the straight line between "black and white", "good and evil", "us and them" and so on becomes more and more tangled and blurred. By following one character most of the time, it manages to be absorbingly personal. The contrast between the killers' world and the civilian world through which they move is heightened by the places they overlap. Parts of this sat in my mind and came back up with a new significance later, like Holland and what was said about it near the end. All the performances are great, but that of "Papa" particularly so.
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