Munich (Spielberg)

Steven Spielberg has never been more courageous or controversial than in his Oscar-nominated espionage thriller Munich. It portrays the events after the 1972 Olympics ... more >

Steven Spielberg has never been more courageous or controversial than in his Oscar-nominated espionage thriller Munich. It portrays the events after the 1972 Olympics massacre in Munich, where eleven Israeli athletes were assassinated by the Palestinian Black September group. Eric Bana plays Avner, a young Mossad officer appointed by Golda Meir, whose government started a ruthless campaign for vengeance based on the “eye for an eye” principle of the Old Testament. Avner is the team leader of a secret hit squad, whose mission is to assassinate the eleven Arabs responsible.

Munich effectively cuts back and forth between documentary recordings and reconstructions of the events. The 1970s atmosphere in the cities Avner and his team visit is recreated beautifully through music and excellent production design. The Munich horrors themselves are recreated in the flashbacks that haunt Avner, including a memorable sequence in which explosions and shootings are juxtaposed with Avner making love to his wife.

Spielberg has been criticised for humanising the Palestinian terrorists at the expense of what many believe were Israel’s necessary survival measures, yet it is this sober representation that makes Munich such a powerful viewing experience.
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View all 4 of Catharina M. Patjas’s reviews

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Cast

Daniel Craig, Eric Bana, Ciaran Hinds

Technical Details