Munich

Watched a movie after a long time and was glad the choice was Munich. Though Spielberg didn’t land any Oscars for this one, I think it ranks along with Spielberg’s very best. Munich has a detached quality to it, and you get the feeling that Spielberg does not relate to the insane violence. That precisely is the motive of his directorial treatment.

Munich portrays violence indifferently and yet the impact is not lost, and in that lies Spielberg’s genius. The emotional intensity of Saving Private Ryan and Schindler’s List is lacking and is instead replaced by a gradual evolution of violence into complete absurdity, defying all logic. Spielberg has dealt with these themes before – the absurdity of human animosity and violence. Yet nowhere has he made them so central to the theme as in Munich. It reflects a more mature perception of the world through which he has finally come to grips with the reality of despair.

What sets the movie apart from his earlier movies is a departure from optimism – Munich offers no hope to the world we inhabit. A world paralyzed by violence, and the madness of its irreversible continuity. You get the feeling while watching the movie that Spielberg directs the relentless violence with a feeling of helplessness – a brutal, vicious circle that has spiralled out of his control.

As Avner, the lead protaganist unable to come to terms with normal life after spending years trying to hunt down Palestinians and being hunted in return, prophetically sums it up towards the conclusion, “There’s no peace at the end of this.”