Munich

[Ash]

This was one of those films that none of my friends would go see with me.
I don't know why.  They could've learned a thing or two from it.
So, I went to see this by myself yesterday and it turned out to be a damn good movie.



It immediately starts off with a riveting re-creation of Black September terrorists making their way into the compound that houses the Israeli athletes.  The terrorists are not merciful in any way, shape or form.

I liked how Spielberg used the actual TV footage from the 1972 broadcasts.
The killing of all the athletes is not completely shown right away.
Instead, Spielberg shows it in flashback scenes throughout the film all the way up to the end.
This helps us remember why Avner (Eric Bana) and his team are doing what they're doing.

Most of the film concerns Avner and his team tracking down every single senior terrorist responsible for the massacre and disposing of them in unique ways.
Not the actual men who carried out the massacre...they are all killed along with the hostages.
We're talking about the brains of the operation.

The wealthy Arab men who financed it and set it all up.

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A bomb in the telephone and the little girl who almost fatally answers it was a pretty intense scene.
The bomb under a man's mattress that's filled with a higher grade explosive than Avner's bombmaker realized.  
Instead of just blowing the man up inside his hotel room, they accidentally end up taking out an entire floor.

The killing of the female Dutch Assassin with zip guns.  (that scene was particularly disturbing to me)  
Hours...no...days after the film ended, this was the scene that I kept seeing over and over in my mind.
You will too when you see this.

Avner and his men are asked to carry these assassinations out by the Israeli government but are considered expendable.
If they are caught, Israel will deny all knowledge of them.  Even though they are all in the Mossad.

Another fascinating part is Avner's "source" for info.  
This "source" will give the location of every terrorist for an extremely high price.  The average Black September member costs over $200,000+ to take out.  
Little does Avner know is that his "source" also sells info to the bad guys and soon Avner believes he is being hunted and becomes so paranoid that he slices his own mattress open to see if it contains a bomb.  Then he goes and sleeps in the closet.

And just who are the bad guys anyway?  That's an interesting question Spielberg proposes.
Are Avner and his team just as bad as the terrorists?

I highly recommend this film.
Just be sure to buy the extra large bucket of popcorn...this movie is almost 3 hours long.

[AndyC]

Wasn't really interested in seeing this, but you're making it sound pretty darn good.

[Ash]

Ebert gave Munich 4 stars and elaborates further.

READ HIS REVIEW HERE

[The Burgomaster]

I saw this the week between Christmas and New Years and I thought it was great.  Probably the best movie I saw during 2005 (which was a very bad year for movies).

[Ash]

When I was watching this, I thought I recognized "Papa".

Yes...it's the same guy that played Drax in "Moonraker"

What a great performance he gives in "Munich"!

[Ash]

I watched Munich with a curious mind.

I must profess my love for Israel even though I am a Christian.

I feel deeply for Israel.
I am firmly on their side.

The articles of Mark Silverberg,...though somewhat hardlined...have proved to be very informative.
They must be read and recognized.

Don't just read the recent ones...read them all.

You could learn a thing or two.

READ THEM HERE

(Take notice to my comments in Mark's "comments" section...I'm Jamey D.)

Read his entire site...
Total frustration and imminent understanding will soon hit you...

[ulthar]

ASHTHECAT Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
>
>
> I must profess my love for Israel even though I am
> a Christian.
>

???

Is loving Isreal somehow at odds for Christians?  I must have missed the memo on that one.

[Ash]

You know how things are ulthar.
I shoudn't have to point them out to you.

[ulthar]

ASHTHECAT Wrote:
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> You know how things are ulthar.
> I shoudn't have to point them out to you.
>

No, I guess I don't know how things are.  Here's what I do know.

I know that as a Christian, I read the Bible, which is mostly Old Testament and deeply seated in Jewish law and tradition.  I know that much of the New Testament also covers Jewish culture and tradition, and many issues with the early church centered on those traditions.  Much Christian history, especially the founding of the church itself, exists in Israel.

I know I've had numerous Jewish friends over the years with whom I've had rich, deep theological and philosophical discussions with never the slightest animosity between our faiths.

I know that as a Christian I celebrate many holidays and festivals throughout the church year that are deep Jewish traditions; one, namely the Passover, is the root of a core Sacrament we honor each and every week (Holy Communion).

I know that at my Christian church, we've had scholars come in to teach us about the ancient Hebrew language and it's interpretations to the modern Bible.  We've even had our entire service performed in Hebrew (that was really, really cool, by the way).

So, I guess I don't know why, as a Christian, I'd have to make qualifications for loving Israel.  Actually, as a Christian, I don't know why I'd have to make qualifications for loving ANYBODY.

Maybe I misunderstood your comment.  That's distinctly possible as I am under the weather this week and am very tired from working until 3 am every night.

[nobody]

I probably shouldn't drop my 2 cents into this conversation, but I can see where both you (ulthar) and Ash are coming from. There are many different religions, and subdivisions thereof, and as we all know every branch of religion has it's hypocrites and disappointments. Not everyone lives up to their supposed beliefs... and while Christians are supposed to 'spread the love around' (for lack of a better way to say it), not all of them do. Hell, not too long ago Pat Robertson made the stupid comment that Ariel Sharon's health was a direct result of God- a punishment for going against the Bible. That's not exactly a "Christian" comment, in my opinion. It's what I'd call highly intolerant (and downright stupid). Sadly, this isn't an isolated event, and there are plenty of other examples of Christians speaking badly about Jews, Jews about Christians, and so on.

...I should probably go watch "Bride of the Monster" now to wash the feeling of deep thought out of my brain. :)

 

[trekgeezer]

This conflict like many (Ireland is one I can think of) is rooted in ages old hate and not necessarily religious differences. Judaism and Islam both originated with the same person, Abraham (Ibriham in Arabic).

Abraham's wife Sarah was barren and so gave him her handmaiden Hagar. When Hagar was found to be pregnant with Abraham's child Sarah ran her off.

Later God granted a son(Isaac) to Abraham by Sarah, from which he said would descend a great nation (Israel).

Hagar was told that her son Ishmael would also raise up a great nation (have many descendants) like his half brother.

Since Ishmael was Abraham's first born Muslims consider him the right heir. Ishmael is considered the Father of the Arabs.
 
There is a pretty extensive article about Abraham on Wikipedia.

The Old Testament is very interesting to read, it will really make you see that there is really not much new under sun when it comes to human nature.

You can see that this conflict has been going on not for centuries, but millenia.

[Ash]

Thank you Trek & Nobody for backing me up.
I appreciate it.

And ulthar, I wasn't trying to be an ass and I also appreciate your input.

I was wondering...
Have any of you taken the time to read the articles by Mark Silverberg that I posted the links to?
What did you think of them?

He is a bit of a hardliner....but he does have a point.
This article sticks in my mind the most
Thoughts?

[Neville]

I wasn't going to watch the film, the arab-israeli is constantly on the headlines so I though watching a movie that deals with it would be like overload, if you know what I mean. But I've been reading lots of possitive  reviews and I'm a follower of Spielberg's late career, so it didn't take much to change my mind.

I'll tell you what i think of it when I've seen. About the conflict itself, the more I try to read about and the more I try to understand it the more confused I end up. Both sides seem to have made more mistakes than progress since 1948.