Cast: Eric Bana, Daniel Craig, Geoffrey Rush, Mathieu Amalric & Mathieu Kassovitz
Director: Steven Spielberg
Rating:
Enetertainment Quotient: 50%
Genre: Drama/History/Thriller
Runtime: 164 min
MPAA rating: R for strong graphic violence, some sexual content, nudity and language

Synopsis:

A Palestinian terrorist group named ‘Black September’ takes eleven Israeli athletes as hostage during the 1972 Munich Olympic Games and murders them. The government of Israel sends a team of five undercover to locate and kill the eleven masterminds who are behind ‘Black September’. The killings should be so intense that the terrorists would think twice before harming any Jews. Did the team of five succeed?

What is special in this film?
This film is based on a real story. Steven Spielberg makes sure that he did not take any sides and gave a balanced account of what happened. He has gone into minute details and has shown the human side of the entire episode. The characterisation of Avner, Louis and Papa are unique. The way he shows the massacre in segmented flashbacks as nightmares to Avner is good.

What I disliked in the film?
Some killing scenes in this film are grotesque (especially the one killing a Dutch woman).

The scenes I liked

1. All the killing sequences.
2. The build-up of the phone bomb.
3. The scene in which the Dutch lady is killed. It is beautifully executed though it is an extremely disturbing scene.
4. The background score in the key scenes.
5. The scene in which Israeli PM says – “Every civilization finds it necessary to negotiate compromises of its own values.”
6. The entire episode of Papa and the way he shows affection towards Avner. Also, the dialogue – ‘Oh, we are tragic men. Butcher's hands, gentle souls’.
7. The way the flashback is shown using the pane of flight’s window.
8. The dialogue – ‘Now you are officially unofficial’.
9. Titles cards: All the names of Europe cities float around with Munich being highlighted.

Tailpiece:
Munich is another great film from Steven Spielberg in the genre of serious history films like Saving Private Ryan and Schindler’s List.