Munich

Munich - Dir. Steven Spielberg (2005)

It goes without saying that Steven Spielberg is a filmmaker in a league of his own. His films have become essential components of our pop culture lexicon. For better or worse, the Hollywood blockbuster exists because of Spielberg and his comrade, George Lucas. Munich lightly mixes Spielberg's slam, bang, blockbuster techniques with the schmaltzy pap that he is, oftentimes, criticized for to create a powerfully, dramatic affair.

During the 1972 Olympic Games in Munich, operatives of the Palestinian terrorist group, Black September held 11 members of the Israeli team hostage. Two were killed in their quarters, the rest (plus, most of the terrorists) were shot during a botched rescue attempt. In response, Israeli Prime Minister Golda Meir (Lynn Cohen) called for swift retribution against those responsible and hands the task to her former bodyguard, Avner (Eric Bana). Avner heads a covert task force that includes: the gung-ho South African Steve (Daniel Craig); Robert (Mathieu Kassovitz), a Belgian toymaker turned bomb maker; the German Hans (Hanns Zischler), who handles false documents; and Carl (Ciaran Hinds), the man in charge of cleaning up any traces of evidence.

Avner believes in his mission (one that may take years) so much that he leaves behind his pregnant wife, who is close to giving birth. Ironically, Avner's own father (a fellow Mossad agent with a heroic reputation) was absent from his life due to duties of the state. Avner's father is mentioned, but never seen during the film.

This year's summer movie season began with Mission: Impossible III and Munich gives us a peek at real life subterfuge. Like Mission: Impossible, the Israeli government disavows any knowledge of Avner and his operation. That's where the similarities end as nothing is at all like the sensationalized worlds of James Bond and Ethan Hunt. Avner's targets aren't at all like the bad guys you'd see in True Lies. The first two on the hit squad's list are elderly, living posh lives in Europe. One is even a poet; it doesn't save him from being gunned down in his apartment building.

Confronting the man face to face, Avner and Robert find themselves freezing at the last moment. It's not quite the quick and clean kill they had planned. The same goes for some of their other assassinations. One bomb isn't powerful enough, another is too powerful, and another doesn't work at all. In a harrowing moment, the team nearly kills a young girl with a remote-controlled bomb hidden in a telephone.

More and more, Avner finds that his mission may not be as righteous as he originally believed. At one point, the Mossad team shares a safe house with members of the PLO due to an angered information broker. Avner discusses the struggle between Israel and Palestine and, for the first time, attaches a human face to the people that are supposed to be his mortal enemy. Avner questions the orders he is given, are they even killing the right men? He questions the futility of his actions. Each man they kill will be replaced by someone else. Each kill brings about a brutal response from the other side. Numerous bombings and hijackings leave hundreds dead. What's the point of it all?

Bana put in fine performances in Troy and Hulk. Here, he's given far better material and truly carries the film. His gaunt face and sunken eyes reveal how much his ideology has been shattered. Bana completes Avner's breakdown by channeling Gene Hackman in The Conversation, when he tears apart his room looking for the very explosive devices he had readily used earlier. The actors filling out Avner's team do well, but aren't given anything as meaty since their roles lean towards standard archetypes, rather than fleshed out characters.

Spielberg has quite the habit by tacking on a happy ending whether it's appropriate for the story or not. One can look at the ridiculous finale of A.I. to see this in full effect. Munich ends on a much more somber note with just a hint of pessimism. In contrast to Schindler's List, there is no clear cut line between the good guys and the bad guys. Munich is a world with shades of gray. Avner tensely confronts his handler, Ephraim (Geoffrey Rush), about the work he has done. The scene is made more powerful against the backdrop of New York City, the Twin Towers still standing tall. In the city that is supposed to be the ultimate melting pot, two fellow Jews cannot see eye to eye.

Video/Audio: (****)
The video is presented in 1080p with an aspect ratio of 2.35:1. Spielberg and cinematographer Janusz Kaminski deftly capture the look of the era with a slightly muted color palette. Nothing comes off to soft or too dark.

The audio is presented in DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1. The sound is excellent and highlighted by the somber score by John Williams. Set pieces involving gunfire and explosions work to accentuate the crisp dialogue.

Extras: (***)

The Blu-ray bonus features have been ported over from the 2-Disc Collector's Edition DVD and are presented in standard definition.

Introduction by Steven Spielberg (4:34) sees the director give us some quick thoughts about how he came on board the project and why it was important to him.

The Mission, The Team (13:10) is all about assembling the major players including the leads and screenwriter Tony Kushner.

Members of the cast and crew give their thoughts and remembrances of the terrorist attack in Memories of the Event (8:36).

Portrait of an Era (13:17) is a featurette about how the filmmakers recreated the look and locations of the 70's.

The On-Set Experience (14:24) features interviews with the cast and crew as they look back at filming some of the movie's most pivotal sequences.

The International Cast (12:41) looks at the worldwide casting net that was used to create the large supporting cast.

Editing, Sound, and Music (12:23) looks at the lengthy post-production process with Spielberg and Editor Michael Kahn discussing how they still cut the picture on film as well as a few words from legendary sound designer Ben Burtt.

Film Value: (****)
Normally, I'd complain about almost 3-hour runtime of the film. I think being able to view it at home and being able to pause, stretch, etc. made it easier to swallow. Munich does have some extra fat that could be trimmed away. Yes, I'd describe Munich as long. I'd also describe it as engrossing, thought-provoking, and one of the best films of 2005. Spielberg proves himself as a master of the medium and I shall forgive him for The Terminal and War of the Worlds.

Miral

Miral - Dir. Julian Schnabel (2011)

Miral courted controversy before it was even released. A Jewish filmmaker telling a story of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict from the Palestinian point of view was bound to be a hot button topic. The film faced protests from Jewish groups during its world premiere at the United Nations' General Assembly Hall. Director Julian Schnabel sent the script to the Israeli Defense Force in order to gain permission to use certain locations. Their response was that helping Schnabel make Miral would be the equivalent of helping Hitler make a movie out of Mein Kampf.

Schnabel began his career as a painter in the New York art scene before making his directorial debut with 1996's Basquiat, based on the life of one of Schnabel's contemporaries, the graffiti artist Jean-Michel Basquiat. Schnabel's last film was 2007's The Diving Bell and the Butterfly, a masterful and poetic picture based on the memoirs of Jean-Dominique Bauby, a journalist who becomes paralyzed and only able to communicate with his left eye. It is a disappointment that Schnabel's follow-up is such a muddled and didactic affair.

Miral is adapted from the semi-autobiographical novel by Rula Jebreal, a journalist of Italian and Palestinian descent who was also Schnabel's girlfriend at the time. The film opens in 1948 in Jerusalem with the founding of the Dar El Tifl orphanage by Hind Husseini (Hiam Abbass), who opened a shelter for children orphaned by the conflict between Arab and Israeli forces. Husseini accepts donations from philanthropists, but none from any governments for fear of being beholden to them. From there, we meet Nadia (Yasmine Al Massri), a tortured woman who escaped from an abusive home at a young age and has tried to drown her sorrows with alcohol. She is thrown into prison after assaulting a woman on the bus. Her cellmate, Fatima (Ruba Blal) is a former nurse who was arrested for planting a bomb in a crowded theater. In a stylized sequence, Fatima slips the explosives under her seat as the audience remains riveted to a rape scene from Roman Polanski's Repulsion.

Nadia marries Fatima's brother, Jamal (Alexander Siddig), and the two have a daughter named Miral. However, Nadia still carries the emotional scars of a troubled childhood and when tragedy strikes Jamal enrolls a 7-year old Miral in Husseini's institution. Jumping ahead to 1988, a 17-year old Miral (Freida Pinto) is awakened to the violence in the West Bank. Husseini warns students to not get involved lest they endanger everyone at the orphanage. But, Miral falls for the charismatic Hani (Omar Metwally), an activist in the PLO with an eye for an eye mentality.

Schnabel manages to tell the story of Miral in such a disjointed fashion that it drains away any power it might have held. It appears he could not decide whether to tell an intimate character study or a sweeping historic tale. The title character doesn't even appear until 45 minutes into the film. Other characters are introduced and dropped without warning or context. Willem Dafoe appears briefly as an American military officer who fancies Husseini, but that subplot never goes anywhere. Vanessa Redgrave also makes a cameo appearance as wealthy humanitarian Bertha Spafford. Not surprising considering the controversy surrounding her acceptance speech at the 1978 Oscars.

Despite the fractured storytelling, Miral does feature a strong performance from Freida Pinto as the title character. Though of Indian descent, Pinto was picked for her acting chops and her resemblance to Jebreal. But, the best performance in the film belongs to Alexander Siddig, who is probably best known for playing Dr. Bashir on Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. Siddig lends the movie a true sense of gravitas as Miral's father.

Miral had all the right ingredients to create a powerful film. It has a strong cast, a topical story, and a filmmaker with a unique vision. However, the pieces just don't fall into place resulting in a disjointed and dull experience.

Rating: ** (*****)