Munich(2005, Steven Spielberg)

I just finished watching this movie last night. I had to watch it in two parts since it was so long and real life wouldn't let me finish it in one sitting. I was spell bound by this thriller, which is based on the 1972 Munich massacre of eleven Israeli athletes, by a Palestinian terrorist group known as Black September. The majority of the movie follows an Israeli hit squad lead by Eric Bana(who gives a tremendous preformance in this film and is worth watching the film alone for), Daniel Craig, Mathieu Kassovitz, Hanns Zischler and Ciaran Hinds and their hunt for the terrorist who were responsible for the Munich massacre.

I think Spielberg did a great job in not taking sides in this film, he just shows the toll of what vengeance can take on a mans' soul and how violence begets more violence. Even though this film was inspired by real events that took place well over 30 years ago. It is shocking at how relevant the movie is today and what is going on in the world, from the escalating violence in Lebanon & Israel to the US's war on terror.

The final scene of the film ends on the Brooklyn waterfront with the World Trade Center in the background. Which made me think of our own war on terror and our retaliation against the people who were responsible for that horrific human loss(Al-qaeda & Bin Laden). Should a country be able to defend its self and go after and bring people to justice for the wrongs and atrocities that they have committed against its citizens. I say yes, but at what point do we become no better than the terrorists that we are fighting and is it worth losing our soul in the process? In this film, I think Spielberg is asking those questions and also where should it stop and are we just perpetuating a cycle of violence and revenge with no end in site.

If you haven't watched this film I urge you to do so, You'll find yourself glued to the screen and maybe just maybe you'll come up with some answers to the many questions this film poses