Fridae

This searing, brooding film opens with a terrorist attack at the
1972 Olympic Games in Germany. Eleven Israeli hostages are killed.
Israel decides to payback.

Sounds simple? This film is much more complex. For one, it's not
a film just about revenge, kudos to Hollywood doyen Steven Spielberg's
usual dexterity with epics. Eric Bana stars as Avner, an up-and-coming
Mossad agent boosted to the front lines in the aftermath of Munich.
In the wake of the slaughter, he's given a list of 11 names and
cut off from the agency proper. His latest mission is to assassinate
the people responsible for the Munich murders.

He is an absolute standout as the slowly conflicted Avner, a man
whose initial cautiousness gives way to righteousness and then to
depths that he may never be able to fully escape. Daniel Craig,
playing a second fiddle of sorts, while not having a big Oscar-type
scene, is a force just through his presence. His body motions alone
depict the confidence that will make him shine as the next James
Bond.

Munich is a film rife with violent images of explosions
and blind fulsillade. Though the camera never flinches from these
displays of vengeance, what it does capture is also a very pro-peace,
anti-violence heart at the story's core: violence though seemingly
effective at the outset as an anti-terror counter measure is never
a real solution for the never-ending conflicts between nations.
And for this insight, albeit not a new or refreshing one, one must
applaude Spielberg's attempt at its reiteration in this post-9/11
times. It's a searching, soul-sick piece of work — not an
easily digested history lesson, but an honest attempt to wrestle
with serious issues facing America right now through the sneaky
filter of past events of a different nation.

Part of Munich's gut-wrenching panache derives from Eric
Roth's screenplay, which was heavily rewritten by Angels in
America playwright Tony Kushner. It's a heady rush of disparate
political positions shouting out their individual voices amidst
the hurly-burly to form a splintered chorus that sings the shattered
dream of a united global community.

A Best Picture nominee at this year's Oscars, it is a must-see
for political junkies.