Munich

The movie that everyone was watching, and no one went to see. Well, I can't say no one. Let's just say that this $75 Million movie *might* break even, and it supposedly is the movie that will most drastically affect the outcome of the Oscars. Interesting, huh?

Why is that? Well, first and foremost, it's Steven Spielberg. If Steven Spielberg says the word "drama" any given year - just utters it from his lips - then he's probably going to be nominated for best director, and just might win without even having made a movie. I don't even have to go into who he is, I hope.

Munich is one of those 2:45 minute behemoths that comes along more and more frequently these days, and along the same lines as Syriana and Good Night and Good Luck. I have yet to steal a seat in the theater for Good Night and Good Luck, but Syriana pales in comparison to this movie.

Brief Synopsis Time
Munich is advertised as the aftermath of the 1972 terrorist hostage situation with 11 Israeli athletes in Munich, Germany at the Olympics. All 11 died, and this movie is "what happened next."

I think this might have been the worst way ever to advertise this movie. The actual outline of the story is more like - a man is asked to leave his 7 months pregnant wife, without asking any questions, to go on a mission into Europe he knows nothing about, that he may not return from, that he cannot talk about. He accepts, and embarks on a quest to destroy the terrorists from that attack with the help of a ragtag group of men, all of whom can hardly muster the courage to pull the trigger at first.


So, how'd that work out?
These men are acting of patriotic duty, and in the end it leads to their demise or gradual mental decline. The story is shaped like a cone - it starts broad, about countries, culture, history - but it comes down to one man, his wife, his child and the effects the event has on his life.

The action scenes were amazing, the acting was amazing (considering the main character was "The Hulk" a few years ago) and the storytelling, of course, was amazing. The movie is a heavy journey through doing what you have to do while staring in the face of a seemingly good man, having to destrtoy someone's life that you were just having coffee with, knowing that when someone standing next to you says "nice day, isn't it?" that it will be his last, for crimes he committed against your country in what seems like a previous life for most of the terrorists. That is what makes it particularly emotional to watch, I think - the lives the evil men had all moved on to pursue. Kissing grandchildren, writing books, going to the grocery store, etc.

There are a few short times when the story gets confusing, bogged down in politics, but you can argue that you are left feeling just like the protagonists, confused, overwhelmed, and the only thing you know is that some dude is about to die for some bad thing. In the end, you're just left with your memory of that, the way the characters were.

I think that to watch this movie, you have to be ready for it to be long, and intense. It's not an entertainment piece, it's a museum piece. See it to learn what its like to be a patriot, against all odds (sometimes, blind patriotism leaves you cursed and forever changed instead of an honored hero). See it to see what it's like to abandon the ones you love for something you believe in. See it because it's Spielberg. See it because the men that truly went through that situation, despite rumors of inaccuracies, deserve the recognition of their story being told. Just see it because it will make you love your loved ones a little more, and hate senseless wars a little more, too.

When Spielberg was asked why he made this movie, it wasn't about the politics for him. He said he made it because it's a story that needs to be told. He actually commissioned like four different people to write scripts for this so that he could pick the perfect one and even that one he had changed to better suit the needs of the story. The politics, the big ideas - all fall back and fade away in the microcosm these men live in. It's just them and their enemies, good seeking vengence against evil. With a story like that, you leave knowing what you should about the politics anyway, no need for grand gestures and sweeping, moving speeches.