For nearly all my life I thought this was about the hostage event in the Olympics itself. Until I watched it recently and wow I regret not watching it way earlier. Great movie.
Somnambulist815 on
I think the moral complexity of the film should be attributed more to Tony Kushner’s script.
junglespycamp on
[Remarkable movie](https://boxd.it/4ZQ6CZ). It has flaws but it is so interesting, so ambitious that it doesn’t matter. This is one of Spielberg’s best directed and best shot films. The 70s aesthetic grounds some of his most tense and nerve-wracking direction. The camerawork is consistently sneaking, shifting views and putting us at disease. The use of mirrors and windows is in the annals of all-time-great shot making. Munich should all be taught in film school. And the net effect of this craft is to wrap us up in the momentum of the movie so much that when the consequences of geopolitical conflict interfere we are shaken, just like the characters.
It is undeniably messy, however, and that explains why the film is so difficult and flawed. Its thematic complexity (confusion?) is at odds with its remarkable execution as a Hollywood thriller. There’s something rich in the mess, however, as Spielberg, Kushner and Roth struggle to process their own thoughts on one of the most complex geopolitical issues of our time. They never manage to wrestle those thoughts into a precise thematic exploration but Spielberg’s talent as a filmmaker does perfect the other half. So we end up with a monumental thriller wrapped in a challenging and confusing bow of world politics.
Mess might be the best possible thing, however, given how fraught the very topic is. If the themes were too neat, too precise then the entire movie would work like clockwork. It would be too smooth, too entertaining and thereby lose its seriousness. If there is any consistent flaw to Spielberg’s other big historical films, be it Schindler’s List, Lincoln or even The Color Purple, it is that they are almost too engaging and too enjoyable as films for their subject matter. Munich is so effective as a thriller it would be too much if it also went down smoothly as political commentary. Better that we choke a little on its challenges, balk at its sex montage, ponder where its focus really lies. Issues that defy simple solutions for decades (centuries) are not well served by simplistic, neat movies. They deserve big swings and complex, multi-faceted thinking. They deserve mess and ambition. They deserve boldness. They deserve movies like Munich.
geekteam6 on
*”Munich* was the beginning of a long, ongoing collaboration between Spielberg and the award-winning playwright Tony Kushner, who’s gone on to write *Lincoln*, *West Side Story*, and *The Fabelmans* for Spielberg…. In November, I spoke with Kushner over Zoom about working with Spielberg on *Munich*, the controversy that greeted the film upon release, and his thoughts on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict post-October 7.”
[deleted] on
[deleted]
giraffield on
Incredible interview honestly. Nuanced and humanist
auntieup on
It’s a stunning, unforgettable movie. Which I guess is fortunate, because I can’t bear to watch it a second time.
HotOne9364 on
Kushner’s pro-Palestine while Spielberg’s pro-Israel (but anti-Netanyahu)
Two opposites made a great movie.
Loathsome_Duck on
My favorite Speilburg film
snow_big_deal on
I don’t recall this movie being really “controversial” at all. It seemed carefully calibrated to not take sides, so could be seen however a viewer wanted. Israelis could say “See, this mission was ethically difficult but necessary and worth it” and Palestinians could say “See, these guys went overboard in their vigilantism.”
The part that did rub me the wrong way, which I think was a major cop-out, was skipping the real-life incident where they killed the wrong guy by mistake. Now *that* would have actually highlighted the ethical dilemmas of vigilantism.
10 Comments
For nearly all my life I thought this was about the hostage event in the Olympics itself. Until I watched it recently and wow I regret not watching it way earlier. Great movie.
I think the moral complexity of the film should be attributed more to Tony Kushner’s script.
[Remarkable movie](https://boxd.it/4ZQ6CZ). It has flaws but it is so interesting, so ambitious that it doesn’t matter. This is one of Spielberg’s best directed and best shot films. The 70s aesthetic grounds some of his most tense and nerve-wracking direction. The camerawork is consistently sneaking, shifting views and putting us at disease. The use of mirrors and windows is in the annals of all-time-great shot making. Munich should all be taught in film school. And the net effect of this craft is to wrap us up in the momentum of the movie so much that when the consequences of geopolitical conflict interfere we are shaken, just like the characters.
It is undeniably messy, however, and that explains why the film is so difficult and flawed. Its thematic complexity (confusion?) is at odds with its remarkable execution as a Hollywood thriller. There’s something rich in the mess, however, as Spielberg, Kushner and Roth struggle to process their own thoughts on one of the most complex geopolitical issues of our time. They never manage to wrestle those thoughts into a precise thematic exploration but Spielberg’s talent as a filmmaker does perfect the other half. So we end up with a monumental thriller wrapped in a challenging and confusing bow of world politics.
Mess might be the best possible thing, however, given how fraught the very topic is. If the themes were too neat, too precise then the entire movie would work like clockwork. It would be too smooth, too entertaining and thereby lose its seriousness. If there is any consistent flaw to Spielberg’s other big historical films, be it Schindler’s List, Lincoln or even The Color Purple, it is that they are almost too engaging and too enjoyable as films for their subject matter. Munich is so effective as a thriller it would be too much if it also went down smoothly as political commentary. Better that we choke a little on its challenges, balk at its sex montage, ponder where its focus really lies. Issues that defy simple solutions for decades (centuries) are not well served by simplistic, neat movies. They deserve big swings and complex, multi-faceted thinking. They deserve mess and ambition. They deserve boldness. They deserve movies like Munich.
*”Munich* was the beginning of a long, ongoing collaboration between Spielberg and the award-winning playwright Tony Kushner, who’s gone on to write *Lincoln*, *West Side Story*, and *The Fabelmans* for Spielberg…. In November, I spoke with Kushner over Zoom about working with Spielberg on *Munich*, the controversy that greeted the film upon release, and his thoughts on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict post-October 7.”
[deleted]
Incredible interview honestly. Nuanced and humanist
It’s a stunning, unforgettable movie. Which I guess is fortunate, because I can’t bear to watch it a second time.
Kushner’s pro-Palestine while Spielberg’s pro-Israel (but anti-Netanyahu)
Two opposites made a great movie.
My favorite Speilburg film
I don’t recall this movie being really “controversial” at all. It seemed carefully calibrated to not take sides, so could be seen however a viewer wanted. Israelis could say “See, this mission was ethically difficult but necessary and worth it” and Palestinians could say “See, these guys went overboard in their vigilantism.”
The part that did rub me the wrong way, which I think was a major cop-out, was skipping the real-life incident where they killed the wrong guy by mistake. Now *that* would have actually highlighted the ethical dilemmas of vigilantism.