Munich (2005)

Director: Steven Spielberg

Cast: Eric Bana as Avner, Daniel Craig as Steve, Ciarán Hinds as Carl, Mathieu Kassovitz as Robert, Hanns Zischler as Hans, Ayelet Zurer as Daphna, Geoffrey Rush as Ephraim, Gila Almagor as Avner's Mother, Michael Lonsdale as Papa, Mathieu Amalric as Louis, Moritz Bleibtreu as Andreas, Valeria Bruni Tedeschi as Sylvie, Meret Becker as Yvonne, Marie-Josée Croze as Jeanette the Dutch Assassin, Yvan Attal as Tony - Andreas' Friend

This movie relates more than just a story of "Vengeance". Besides
proving that killing begets killing - it consists of numerous fine
details that reveal the hard work done at getting to the depth of
things:

For instance, only characters that get shot in the head slump to the
ground. The rest take time to die - they walk a few steps, spurt blood
and express a look of helplessness and inevitability before going out.
Yes its horrifying to look at, which is the point, but it is also real.

Every character is different, and though common in their desire for
vengeance, their temperaments are clearly distinguishable in the way
the hit men approach their task. Even the terrorists are not
stereotyped into hysterical, screaming lunatics. They range from the
visibly nervous to the cool Abu Salameh with the movie star style. They
are poets, intellectuals and guerrillas each with his story of the
conflict. They speak passionately about home - a recurring theme, along
with "family". Moreover, Spielberg does not attempt to mitigate the
grotesque manner of their deaths, for the blood of the targeted men
flows as freely as that of their victims - and when they are blown up,
their body parts dangle from ceiling fans. You are not here to feel
satisfaction over anyone's death, Spielberg says to the audience. Or as
Caine would say in Kung Fu: "The taking of a life does no one honour."

There are no easy "shoot-em-dead" eliminations. There are neighbors,
bystanders and obstacles that must be avoided and protected - with
variable success. Innocent people may be harmed - and one has to live
with that.

There are no mathematical certainties about the potential damage a bomb
will cause.

Perspectives and convictions can change, sometimes regrettably. "Don't
think about it - just do it" says Avner at one stage when a member of
the team expresses doubts about a target's guilt. But at the end he
wants evidence that the men he despatched were justifiably killed.
Implausible? No; it is only when he has been reunited with his family
and experiences the affection of wife and child that he allows himself
to reflect from a different perspective - their targets had families
too - what if he had killed the wrong men?

The paranoia that permeates the world of spies and assassins is built
up gradually - to the point where every survivor mistrusts everybody
else. One is doomed all one's life to walk with ears strained for
following footsteps. The length of the movie creates the right
atmosphere for this idea.

The end dissatisfies many because they would like a reassurance, a note
of optimistic finality - but Spielberg rightly offers none. It would be
dishonest of him to offer a false but comforting illusion.

It is interesting to contrast this movie with "Paradise Now" that has
no violence, a modest budget, and views the conflict from the
Palestinian camp. Both narrate completely different stories - yet, in
their respective ways, both humanize their subjects, defuse myths about
glory, and arrive at the same conclusion: "There's no peace at the end
of this."