Munich

A fine example of a film I was far happier with once it had finished. It has some grand and robust things to say, but didn't say them in a way that kept me engaged. It was only afterwards, in thinking about what I had experienced that a multitude of layers revealed themselves.

Following a group of Israeli funded assassin's knocking off those they believe responsible for planning the massacre of athletes at the 1972 Olympics (in Munich), a good example of what I mean can be found in the way that they execute the executions. With each there is a problem, some error they make, and this is importation for the films tension as most are unprotected civilians, but it also paints the intrepid band of murderers as fallible. They aren't super spies or meticulous assassins, they're human beings, imperfect creatures. And in consideration this struck me as important to what I was seeing emerge as the central theme, but at the time it's just not as attention grabbing as cold, confident action fare. It all happens slowly rather than dynamically, and this is how I and the film danced, weighty ideas presented in a way that while beautiful, certainly, I couldn't described as captivating.

That major theme that I was drawing from it, alongside the feeling that it is broad and complex enough to be read in a multitude of manners, was the loss of humanity for all involved. Crucially, and perhaps sensibly the film never seeks to pick a side of the conflict, it is critical to all concerned. They dehumanise one another in order to inflict the damage they do, and as we see through the eyes of Bana the protagonist, they lose much of their own humanity in doing so.

The mood one brings to a films viewing plays an important role in the experience, and I have the feeling that the one I brought to Munich didn't necessarily do it justice. It is slow and not all that dramatic, but there is much to be said for it. There are some decent performances, in spite of unusual accents, and the level of uncertainty it portrays, evasive motives, insubstantial allegiances and even the lack of clarity over the assassin's task is most interesting, but for the time it was upon screen my actual attention was often elsewhere. It's something I will definitely watch again, because while ponderous and pensive, it is something I feel deserves to be loved. It'll just be a while before I get back around to it.