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Sympathy for the Devil
by Christian De Matteo
Super
When an entire nation issues a statement calling you, in
essence, a traitor to that nation, you've indeed succeeded,
in my not-so-humble-opinion, as an artist. And so,
this is what has basically happened to Spielberg with Israel
in relation to this film.
And understandably so. Spielberg's film spends a good
deal of its rather long film time questioning the veracity
of Israel's claim to the land they occupy and the PLO's
claim to have it back. Not at all a pro-Israel film,
the movie asks many more questions than it attempts to
answer and, in the long run, leaves us in a state of limbo.
The film, however, is also not anti-Israel, which I gather
is what Israel has failed to notice. The movie is
frankly not pro or con anything, except the basic need of
humanity to war and hurt. This too, it doesn't attempt
to solve. The basic polemic of the film is not that
anyone person, be he politician, government official,
terrorist or filmmaker has the answer to what is a very
basic question of the aggressive behavior of human nature,
but rather that we cannot simply accept things because they
are, but rather question them until we come close to an
answer.
The political climate that Spielberg has chosen to release
this film during is what has garnered the majority of the
response it's recieved calling it an anti-war film (which,
philosophically it certainly is) and an anti-American film
(which it certainly isn't) and anti-Israel film (which it
also isn't). People are claiming that in it Spielberg
seems to find sympathy for the terrorists, which he does,
and that he is arguing that they are in the right... which
he doesn't.
It's funny how current events shaping our understanding of
deeper thought, how the intense desire to label everyone to
one side or another often curtails our ability to think in
an unbiased way. Pre-September 11th, 2001, Munich
would have been viewed as a conservative film properly
exposing the faults of a nation that stole away land from
another nation, claiming God had given it to them. In
the post-9/11 world that Munich finds itself really
released, the movie is viewed as a liberal, anti-Bush,
anti-War on Terror, film chastising America for seeking
revenge rather than taking the "higher" road. The
Moral Path.
But upon viewing the film, if you can convince yourself to
do so, philosophically as a work of art making a statement
about a historical event but also a history of violence
(also discussed this year) in humanity, one sees that none
of the characters in the movie have the answer on how to
deal with violence, and that, like them, no one in human
history has ever had it figured out. The answer is far
from as simple as to fight or not to fight, and that middle
area, that gray ground is what troubles us the deepest.
Munich plays better in your head afterward, than it does in
the theater. This is a cerebral movie, for all it's
violence and explosions, it is a movie of ideas, thoughts,
philosophies and beliefs that cut right the very core of our
place on this planet surrounded by other people. The
movie burns forward, getting hotter and more uncomfortable
from frame one, tantalizing us with the satisfaction of
revenge, than stopping us mid-gush with the moral
consequences of that dish said to be best served cold.
Propelling forward what could have been a brain-masturbating
snoozefest, is the directing ability of the extremely able
helmsman as well as a well thought out script, sharply
balanced in a non-preachy, very real conversation.
This is the type of movie Traffic tried to be, but failed
because of the unending preachiness and condescension and
little respect it had for the intelligence of it's audience
to figure things out for themselves. Steve Sodeberg
and his writer also seemed to think they knew how to solve
the entire drug problem, while Spielberg and Jonas and the
screenwriter's acknowledge that if it was solvable by
Hollywood, it wouldn't be one of humanity's eternal
mysteries.
But still this alone would have still made this movie a
bore, if not for the incredible performances of Eric Bana,
Ciaran Hinds, Mathieu Kassovitz, Hanns Zischler, Ayelet
Zurer, Gila Almagor, Lynn Cohen and the always great
Geoffrey Rush, the film would have failed.
Intercutting the performances of the men playing the
Olympians with the ongoing hunt events, Spielberg showcases
the pain and exquisite acting of all the actors, bringing
forward astounding performances by all the actors involved.
Bana plays his part perfectly, between the oh-so-important
sex scenes with his wife, his cool under pressure and his
slowly crumbling resolve meshed together with his patriotism
as a Jew, the man deserves whatever Oscar attention he can
get, though the Academy is not known for wise decisions.
Munich is a movie that should be seen by everyone,
regardless of political ideologies, philosophies or biases.
This is a movie about what it is to be human living amongst
other humans, to be a nation, living amongst other nations,
and to need protection when protection seems antithetical to
your beliefs.
A phenomenal job, Mr. Spielberg. I applaud you again.
Munich
by Michael Flanagan
Spielberg, to use a cliché, has done it
again. You can really tell when that man has a passion for
something, because it shows up really simply in his work.
This. Schindler’s List. Tom Cruise.
Munich is a very powerful film that
explores what happened after the hostages were killed at the
Olympics in Munich. It’s a very tragic, very complicated
event that I won’t summarize here. You can get better books
on it, or just see the movie, which shows it powerfully. I
also won’t get into all the political controversy, which
isn’t really the point. Sure, Spielberg is brave for having
done it in the face of death threats, in a dangerous
political climate, as a form of definitive statement on his
part. But that’s for him. It’s what he needed to say.
It’s the big picture surrounding the movie.
But the movie itself is a harsh, honest
look at human nature, in a way. How much can a human being
take the act of murdering others, regardless of whether they
deserve it. I don’t think there’s any one of us who
wouldn’t pay at the chance of going into a ring with any
terrorist responsible for any act, especially those in
recent years, with a crowbar and a vat of alcohol. But,
given that opportunity, what is the toll on our humanity?
Murder will always be murder. If I have a child, and a man
in front of me kills that child, I will have no problem
killing that man. After that, though, what happens?
Munich tells the large story there.
Eric Bana is great in this, dealing with the tortured soul
of a man responsible for spending years taking lives,
assassinating those responsible for planning the Munich
murders. It’s not about whether he should have or not.
It’s not what’s right or wrong. It’s that gray line in
between. You spend years planning and committing murders,
and then avoiding your own, there’s a toll. What is it?
There are two times in this movie where
that is made most clear. One if the Bana paranoia scene. I
won’t give it away here, but it hit me in my spine it worked
so well. The other is the sex scene with the wife. Again,
I won’t reveal it, but damn. Pure internal strife shown
externally on the screen. It’s a reminder of why
Spielberg’s Spielberg.
The movie drags a little in parts, and
at times becomes a little hard to follow until you see where
it’s going, but overall it’s one of the most powerful movies
I’ve seen in a long time.
This review is part of
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