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Munich is, of course, about the evolution of the sociopolitical distribution of Middle Eastern land mass as affected by bilateral aggression of cultural and ancestrally aligned factions, specifically as affected by covert actions of Mojad (?) operatives against Muhammed Abdul Muhammed, the brother’s cousin of the Black September leader to which the Russians somehow. . . yea, it’s complicated.
In true Spielberg fashion, he took a difficult and horrifying subject and tells a compelling story. Munich is based on true events combined with some artistic license in order to deliver intriguing characters and a gripping story. The movie starts in 1972 at the Munich Olympic games. A group of Palestinians take hostage and slaughters most of the Israeli Olympic team. These true events are weaved together with a story of the efforts of a special Israeli team to track down and kill each of the eleven Palestinians that had a hand in planning the murders. The story shows the gripping journey each of the Israeli’s takes to carry out the wishes of their government. They must struggle with emotional, spiritual and moral issues during their pursuits. The movie shows the personal struggles of humanity versus inhumanity and that the lines between good and evil can be blurred.
Munich is a masterful depiction of a relevant event, complete with a sound and supported “morale of the story.” Spielberg’s perfection of both the science and the art of filmmaking is mesmerizing. However, the themes are too pertinent and the story itself too complicated for this to be entertaining to the American audience in general. Arab and Israeli characters are too numerous and, in fact, too “real” for most to easily follow the story. Unfortunately, superb acting and the director’s commitment to accuracy will make this movie a difficult sell at the box office. Perhaps tragically, the commercial success of Munich would have been better served by naming the characters Tom, Dick, and Harry, as well as eliminating their accents and dialects. This movie is essentially Saving Private Ryan, but for a different war – one which is all guts, and no glory – and is therefore not particularly pleasant to watch.
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