Munich

MUNICH (15)

D: Steven Spielberg

Universal/Dreamworks/Amblin (Kathleen Kennedy, Steven Spielberg & Barry Mendel)

US/Canada 2005

164 mins

Thriller

W: Tony Kushner & Eric Roth [based on the book "Vengeance: The True Story of an Israeli Counter Terrorist Team" by George Jonas]

DP: Janusz Kaminski

Ed: Michael Kahn

Mus: John Williams

Eric Bana (Avner Kaufman), Daniel Craig (Steve), Ciaran Hinds (Carl), Mathieu Kassovitz (Robert), Hanns Zischler (Hans), Ayelet Zurer (Daphna Kaufman), Geoffrey Rush (Ephraim)

Spielberg directs without the usual spoonful of sentimentality that usually accompanies his movies. It's a very brutal and grim thriller depicting the Israeli Secret Service Agency's mission to assassinate the Palestinian 'Black September' terrorists responsible for the massacre of Israeli athletes at the 1972 Olympic Games, mostly based on truth, but with a huge dose of Hollywood fiction added for dramatic effect.

Kevin MacDonald's documentary, One Day In September deals with the same incident in a far more realistic way.

Being nominated for five Oscars, including Best Picture, was a very generous acknowledgment. It's a well produced and directed piece of work for sure, but it failed to make my top 10 of 2005.

6/10