There seem to actually be two Steven Spielbergs. The first one is the fun-loving movie geek that created the Summer Blockbuster and keeps churning out films by the boatloads that make billions of dollars. This is the Spielberg that brought us the Indiana Jones Trilogy, E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial , Jurassic Park, Close Encounters of the Third Kind, and Jaws. This Spielberg brought us entertainment of the highest quality, but not good enough to be recognized by the Academy. Unfortunately, this is also the Spielberg that has brought the most duds too. These would include 1941, Hook, Always, and Artificial Intelligence: A.I.
The other Spielberg is adored by Oscar. This is the serious, important Spielberg who gives us films to think about that touch us. This director first showed up in 1985 with The Color Purple, then subsequently gave us Empire of the Sun, Amistad and his Academy triumphs Schindler’s List and Saving Private Ryan. This Spielberg almost seemed as if he were a reaction to the Academy’s reluctance to give him any credit for creating some of the best popcorn films in history.
As I’ve gone over in previous columns, both the crowd pleasing and serious Spielbergs have actually shown up in the same year on two different occasions. In 1993, Spielberg gave one of the biggest blockbusters in history with Jurassic Park and then wowed the Academy with Schindler’s List. In 2002, Spielberg gave us Minority Report and then handed audiences a nice Christmas gift Catch Me if You Can in December of that year.
2005 will mark the third time Spielberg will where both the hats of entertainer and serious film maker in the same year. After the disappointing box office of The Terminal the previous year, War of the Worlds raked in the cash, taking in over $591 million worldwide and ranking as the third highest grossing film of the year.
Unfortunately, Spielberg’s must-see film of 2005 is one that may only be seen by a very few. Also, the film may not reach the same heights Oscar-wise as his previous winners, Schindler’s List and Saving Private Ryan, because of its controversial nature. Whether the box office or awards do not rack up for the film, Munich is an artistic achievement the likes of which few directors will ever match.
(credit:www.impawards.com)
Munich Starring Eric Bana, Daniel Craig, and Ciarán Hinds. Directed by Steven Spielberg.
Based on the book Vengeance by George Jonas, Munich is “Inspired by Actual Events”, which is to say that it is not based on any real-life people, but is set in a climate surrounding an actual event . This does not take away from this film in any way, though. The film is one of the finest in Spielberg’s entire career and show’s a true return to form in a way that hasn’t been shown since Saving Private Ryan.
In recent years, Spielberg has shown a tendency to not be able to send his audience home happy. War of the Worlds and Artificial Intelligence: A.I have moments of absolute wonder, but when the ending hits the films simply drop a few notches in quality due to saccharine sentiment. Even Minority Report has a line that was dropped from the end, just so the slightest bit of somberness would be removed before the closing credits role. With Munich Spielberg is brave enough to make us see that not every story ends happily.
Indeed, this entire film is an exercise in the bravest of film making. For one of the most successful directors that has ever lived to bring out a film this politically charged, no matter what the backlash may be, during such a volatile time shows great courage. From the film’s opening shots, you can tell that this is not the same Spielberg shooting the movie that showed us the short little alien in 1982. Slowly throughout the film the events of the massacre at the Munich Olympics unfolds in unflinching flashbacks, and you can feel the pain that Spielberg has in showing them.
The bulk of the film has to do with a team put together by the Israeli government to eliminate the leaders of Black September, the terrorist group that organized the Munich attack. Consisting of the leader Avner (Eric Bana), a former Mossad agent doing his duty for his homeland, Steve (Daniel Craig), the team’s nearly homicidal driver whose always rearing for a fight, Robert (Mathieu Kassovitz) who really just wants to make toys, but now has to make bombs, Carl (Ciaran Hinds), their one man cleanup crew, and finally Hans (Hanns Zischler), a quiet man who forges documents.
The team are as much assassins as they are a type of PR machine for the Israelis. In one scene, their government liaison, Ephraim (Geoffrey Rush), even goes over why it’s preferable to use bombs instead of guns, because it makes a better news story. With every murder, they send a message to others that Israel will strike back. Unfortunately, the terrorists keep striking back in turn, sending corresponding messages.
There are so many strong performances here that it’s stunning. Eric Bana is absolutely wonderful as Avner. In the beginning of the film, you can rightly see how he simply wants to be dutiful to Israel. You can see his reluctance to kill at first, even making Robert, who is even more squeamish about it, assassinate their first victim. With each kill, the murders get easier and easier for Avner. He loses part of himself with each kill. You can see the innocence and joy drain from Bana’s face as the film proceeds.
In any other Spy film, and essentially that is what Munich is, the Black September members would be portrayed as evil villains. Here they often appear as pitiful or sympathetic men. Even the men committing the Munich atrocities look scared. Much of the heat Spielberg has taken from different groups is for the portrayal of the terrorists, as it makes Israel look as if they have murdered innocents. This is not Spielberg’s aim at all. He simply wants to show that neither side is completely righteous and that in the end bloodshed begets bloodshed. It’s an amazing moral stance, and incredible how he can make the film seem so relevant regardless that the picture takes place in the early 70’s.
None of Spielberg’s messages could come through though, without his expert direction and the film’s performances. The sequence involving a little girl about to be bombed is simply Hitcockian in the amount of suspense it’s able to achieve. Another sequence where Avner nearly becomes collateral damage during an assassination is heart-wrenching in its brutality. Finally the Munich sequence itself is horrifying and as bleak as anything Spielberg has ever put on screen.
One of the best “quiet” sequences in the book has the team accidentally sharing a safe house with a team of PLO members. The sequence in powerful in how Avner tries to talk the group’s leader out of further bloodshed, but the man’s principle’s mirror Avner’s so much that his argument loses steam, but gains real insight. This may be the best scene Spielberg has in the film in favor of tolerance.
The look of the 70’s is also pitch perfect. Spielberg and Cinematographer Janusz Kaminski put you completely in this world while still connecting it to ours. At no time does his art direction look or feel unauthentic. This is similar to the effect of Catch Me if You Can, but adding another layer of realism.
With the introduction of the team’s informant, Louis (Mathieu Amalric), there is a certain amount of paranoia that creeps into the picture. Not much is known about Louis, and suddenly members of their team start to drop. Bana’s reactions here are crucial as his suspicions reach a fever pitch. Finally, his mistrust of nearly everyone starts to break him.
Other performances are just as striking. Ciaran Hinds is the soulful member of the group as Carl. His nature is so inviting on screen that you can’t help but like him. The image of him running to stop the death of the young girl is so striking that it becomes one of the most memorable portions of the film. He is the most fragile of the group and yet here he is running as fast as he can to save this girl.
Mathieu Kassovitz becomes the conscience of the group half way through the picture. Of all the men, he is the one most vocal about his doubts. His role is the most everyman of all the men. His speech is about losing his soul is another highlight in a film full of them.
I find it interesting that right before Spielberg directed Raiders of the Lost Ark, the project he was actually developing was a 007 film. Here he has constructed a Spy film that matches anything in Bond’s own genre. Spielberg even casts the new Bond, Daniel Craig, who is striking as Steve. Steve is the type of bad ass character that would normally be associated with this type of film, but Spielberg makes you feel as if he’s just another zealot.
Spielberg even employs a Bond villain in the film as Hugo Drax himself, Michael Lonsdale plays Louis’ father and the leader of their group. You can feel his mistrust and cynicism with his speech to Avner, as he talks about the French Resistance, “We paid this price so Nazi scum could be replaced by Gaullist scum. We don’t deal with governments.” Again Spielberg subtly gives you his point as he quietly states that no government is right in this conflict.
This is the second important film to come out in 2005 about the awful cycle of bloodshed in the Middle East and how all governments involved merely go about spreading the problem instead of solving it. Syriana was amazing, but was so thick plot wise that it will probably lose many audiences too impatient for its message. Spielberg gives you an amazingly entertaining experience as well as educating his audience about the evils of hate. This is a brutal and wonderful film that makes you walk away with an important moral, as well as show you what a truly remarkable film maker Spielberg is.
Picture Credits: Cinema.com
