![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
Munich (2006)
Wed, Jan. 18th, 2006 02:16 pmI watched Munich with my dad over the weekend (I need to stop watching depressing movies... the last three I've seen are this one, Brokeback Mountain and Syriana).
Mostly I disliked it. It's not the distant respect that Brokeback Mountain gets from me for art direction and etc. I just can't make heads or tails of Munich at all. I mean, I know that the point of the movie is something like both the Israelis and the Palestinians are wrong for using violence to solve problems and that both of them are pretty much stuck between a rock and a hard place, but I'm not sure why Spielberg decided to frame this argument with the Munich Olympics.
I can see how it could be a good movie exploring all these different issues, but I got incredibly bored watching Avner and his team assassinating various Black September members and generally bungling it up. If the movie was going after a political point, there is entirely too much screen time devoted to the ins and outs of assassination planning. I get that Avner is gradually becoming disillusioned, but I feel like Spielberg could have shown it with more, you know, actual politics.
Also, I never really cared much about Avner and his angst.
Also also, I was extremely annoyed that Avner's wife falls into the standard Serious Movie role of Wife With Child who represents home, safety, and goodness and must be protected and shielded by the Tortured Husband even as she encourages him to drop his Ambiguous Activities and Return Home.
Apologies for the excessive capitalization. But that particular stereotype really irritates me, especially when the other women in the movie consist of the Precious and Innocent Daughter of Evil Man, the Femme Fatale, and the Corrupt Woman in Power. Greeeeaaaat....
Finally, I was running out of patience with the movie, but if it were a book, I would have chucked it against the wall during the scene where the disillusioned Avner is having sex with his wife and has flashbacks (or memories, or... something) of the murder of the Israeli athletes while he's orgasming. I mean, EW! EW! And once again, EW! What's the significance supposed to be? Why? And also... EW!
The final shot of the movie is of the New York skyline, with the two towers prominently featured. While it could have been a random shot of the skyline, I got the impression that Spielberg was trying to make some sort of comment about mutual violence and whatnot, but again, I found it rather tasteless and just confusing, given how much of a mess the movie was.
Mostly I disliked it. It's not the distant respect that Brokeback Mountain gets from me for art direction and etc. I just can't make heads or tails of Munich at all. I mean, I know that the point of the movie is something like both the Israelis and the Palestinians are wrong for using violence to solve problems and that both of them are pretty much stuck between a rock and a hard place, but I'm not sure why Spielberg decided to frame this argument with the Munich Olympics.
I can see how it could be a good movie exploring all these different issues, but I got incredibly bored watching Avner and his team assassinating various Black September members and generally bungling it up. If the movie was going after a political point, there is entirely too much screen time devoted to the ins and outs of assassination planning. I get that Avner is gradually becoming disillusioned, but I feel like Spielberg could have shown it with more, you know, actual politics.
Also, I never really cared much about Avner and his angst.
Also also, I was extremely annoyed that Avner's wife falls into the standard Serious Movie role of Wife With Child who represents home, safety, and goodness and must be protected and shielded by the Tortured Husband even as she encourages him to drop his Ambiguous Activities and Return Home.
Apologies for the excessive capitalization. But that particular stereotype really irritates me, especially when the other women in the movie consist of the Precious and Innocent Daughter of Evil Man, the Femme Fatale, and the Corrupt Woman in Power. Greeeeaaaat....
Finally, I was running out of patience with the movie, but if it were a book, I would have chucked it against the wall during the scene where the disillusioned Avner is having sex with his wife and has flashbacks (or memories, or... something) of the murder of the Israeli athletes while he's orgasming. I mean, EW! EW! And once again, EW! What's the significance supposed to be? Why? And also... EW!
The final shot of the movie is of the New York skyline, with the two towers prominently featured. While it could have been a random shot of the skyline, I got the impression that Spielberg was trying to make some sort of comment about mutual violence and whatnot, but again, I found it rather tasteless and just confusing, given how much of a mess the movie was.
Tags: