Munich Movie (2005) by Steven Spielberg.

Anyone familiar with international history must be aware of the Munich Olympics in 1972, where eleven Israeli athletes were kidnapped and imprisoned by Palestinian terrorists.

At the Munich Airport, the terrorists were holding the athletes prisoner. The movie “Munich” begins following the incident, when Prime Minister Golda Meir (Lynn Cohen) made the secret decision to track down and assassinate the Palestinians who were responsible for the attack using the intelligence. Steven Spielberg produced and wrote it. The film “Munich” is a hit-man movie that employs the use of intelligence in the search and murder of the terrorists of the 1972 Olympic. All members of the team are given special assignments, and they travel to Europe to plot and carry out their hits depending on the information provided. Therefore, the movie is an intelligent and gripping thriller, hence a major contender for an award recognition because of its exceptional nature.

Heroic or Anti-Heroic Approach in the Movie

There is nothing about the movie that appears smooth, though it is simple in the manner in which it is conducted. Maybe, that was the intention of Steven Spielberg. It could be tighter in its plots, but it still retains its power and impact. The characters depict heroic status, such as Eric Bana as he battled to salvage his humanity and soul. Additionally, the hit-men’s mission across Europe was an indication of bravery as they traveled and killed the suspected 1972 Munich Olympic attackers.

Movie’s Legitimization of the Use of Intelligence

The use of intelligence by the writer of the movie is a subject to critics. When looking at it from the lens of the International Laws, it could either be legitimate or not. However, at a domestic level, it was obviously legitimate as it was the order from the Israeli Prime Minister. The United Nations recognizes a targeted killing as being lawful only when the target is a legitimate military target. However, the hit-men killed civilians who they claim to be the members of the Black September which, in turn, rendered their operation as illegal. Therefore, whether the Israelites’ actions were justified, they had violated international law. They were likely to face the consequences in the form of retaliations from the international community.

Balance of Reality and Fiction

Although the movie is a work of fiction, it describes actual events of the early 1970s. The Prime Minister of Israel, Golda Meir Shamgar, is depicted in the film together with the Mossad chief, Zvi Zamir, and the Amar chief, Aharon Yariv. The writer, Spielberg, represented the hostage-taking jointly with the killings of the Israeli athletes that are historically authentic and accurate in accordance with the autopsies. The film also makes use of the actual news clips of the 1972 hostage situation. The names and deaths of the members of the Black September are also factual. Although the movie shows the bomb being concealed in a telephone, the remaining details of the assassination like the confirmation of the targets through telephone calls are accurate.

Conclusion

Some viewers may consider the film as either a masterpiece or not, but it is still entertaining to watch. It portrays a particular side of the story of the Munich attack and does it well. Anyone who understands the tragedy of Munich in 1972 will automatically feel a connection to the events in the movie. The film also gives a second chance to the audiences with limited knowledge of the Munich attack to conceptualize the ’real’ events.