What it takes to be a Jew. Review on Munich Movie

Only Blood which matters to me is Jewish Blood

Yes, It means a lot being an American Jew, intellectual among the richest and most successful film personality that he is in the States.

Coming from the Jewish ancestors from Europe, Israel should have been very close to his chest for years for the Jew who made jaws.

Hence comes yet another masterpiece from Steven Spielberg to reveal something very close to his blood as it is for many jews from America with antecedents to Israel. He has unleashed a movie, a war against terrorism to remind this world yet again that religious fundamentalism leads to gore and death.

It means he wants to make a statement with Munich where his heart lies-for peace between Israel and the Palestinians.

A different war this one

Having made several movies in line of wars against amphibians, pre historic creatures to give commercially successful and huge entertainers, Spielberg went on to make the War of the Worlds between the Humans and Martians from outside.

With Munich Spielberg gets into a different war of people between the Palestinians and Israel. Spielberg avoids making so many blunders as in War of the Worlds to give more purpose in this endavour.

The kidnapping and death of the Israeli athletes most of them wrestlers at the Munich 1972 Olympics marks the opening shots of Black September & signals the depth and intensity of the movie and drags you into a chilling narration of its aftermath for the next 150 minutes not to even take your eyes off for a moment.

“Forget Peace for now, “This affirmative by the Prime Minister Golda Meir of Israel after this incident also marks the beginning of Vengeance –eye for an eye (The film is based on the book Vengeance by George Jonas and real aftermath of the Olympics) Avner, Former Massad agent and Meir’s bodyguard is made the leader of the five men death squad which gets into the act of removing the 11 assassins responsible for the massacre of athletes.

What fallows as a jubilation after shooting the first Victim moves over to the dramatic incidents in each of the subsequent efforts to kill the assailants which makes the movie a must watch.

The second effort turns dramatic when the girl returns back to pick the phone unnoticed by the death squad when the truck blocks their vision. The girl is saved , but eventually the target picks the Phone explosive.

It follows in more terror from Palestinians at the Israeli embassy in London.

The third a bomb under the Bed in Olympic Hotel in Cyprus explodes more powerfully than expected with Avner and the other couple caught in the adjoining rooms in terrifying muddle which really shook me off.

The suspense thickens when the bomb in TV to kill a KGB contact for Black September fails to explode and dynamite is rolled out to complete the task. They end up finding the Palestinians who incidentally stayed in the same bizarre Safe House in Athens.

What fallows is retribution and the danger of the death squad being wiped out as Avner needs to quit else will fall prey to more terror. You never know when evil falls as found by Robert, the toy maker.

Avner fails at the most important hurdle of shooting Salami the inventor of Black September when the boy guard gets killed in front of him.

Avner quits.

The Movie-Performances

Eric Bana as Avner and his Israeli counterparts do a decent job & the rest of the death squad fit the bill. Bana simply gets into the role of the crusader with good emotional turmoil between good and bad, Country and Family and breaks down finally into a resolve of unanimity. Goeffrey Rush as the informer does a great job too.

The best part of the movie is Photography by Janusz Kaminski of Schindler’s list fame. He excels in every frame with some close shots into the allies and corridors the peak of which is the shot where Blood and Milk spill when the first victim is shot at and Carl removes the evidence from the floor. The gun fight in the Hotel is simply disturbing and carries to your mind for long. The massacre of the athletes is shown in several shots to create the vengeance as core of the crusaders. John Williams musical score is simple but very deep to create human terror in the frames

The screen play by Kushnar and Roth is very well balanced to escape the fear of writing for such a controversial movie on fundamentalism and pushes to the extent that the World can only live in peace.

Munich-Mind boggling exercise

The visual impact of Terror, the drama behind each scene, the suspense, the unexpected twists and twirls, the retribution, the emotional turmoil and the narration of sequence of events makes it a serious mind boggling exercise for the Viewer and Director Spielberg does not just end with shear entertainment but has something to say to the world.

''We had to take it because no one would ever give it to us. Whatever it took, whatever it takes, we have a place on earth at last.''

The place on this earth can be guaranteed only if there is no terror in that place. Probably Hindu, Buddha and Jain religions are religions where terrorism and blood gore are not means of succor.

Islamic fundamentalism has lead to terrorism and the value for this life is lost when Counter terrorism is used to quell that. As exemplified in this movie, the Jews though high in the echelons of society are pregnable when religion comes to the fore and their approach of drawing lines and living on that makes them narrow to the world and other religions. Meir’s statement “Every religion finds it necessary to negotiate compromises with its values. “reflects the attitude.

Spielberg feels that there is no peace at the end of this. There is no peace in any world where there is no Ahimsa as preached by Father of our Nation.

All this blood comes back to us.