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Munich

Revenge is not so sweet
MUNICH
Director: Steven Spielberg
Cert. 15

The 1972 Olympics in Munich were marred by tragedy when 11 Israeli athletes were taken hostage and then killed by the Palestinian terrorist group Black September.

Steven Spielberg’s latest film deals with the response of Mossad, the Israeli secret service — the setting up of a group of assassins detailed to take revenge on 11 Palestinians believed to have helped organise the atrocities.

The film (unsurprisingly, given its subject matter) makes for an exceedingly grim two-and-a-half hours and, if you can watch it without being depressed by what you see, then you have either done a good job of controlling your emotions or you have largely ignored what has been going on. It should also be mentioned that the film is unnecessarily gory in parts and some may well argue that it pushes its ‘15’ certificate to the limit.

Where to stop?

As the film goes on and the main character changes from a happy husband and expectant father to a paranoid murderer, Munich seeks to get the viewer to think about the idea of revenge. When members of Black September who are killed are replaced, the central characters argue about whether they should kill the replacements too. Where does revenge stop? The assassins’ group leader at one point comments that one day he will ‘wake up, kill someone, go to bed and feel nothing at all’. How can a previously normal man become so indifferent to death? Points about the justice of revenge killings and whether they achieve anything are also raised. None of the film’s answers leave you with a positive view of revenge.

And, of course, the film is in many ways right. Humans are unable to limit revenge to what is just and those who go on killing inevitably harm themselves as personalities. But, on the other hand, surely those who plan acts of terrorism deserve retribution. The only answer is in the Bible: ‘Do not take revenge, my friends, but leave room for God’s wrath, for it is written: “It is mine to avenge; I will repay,” says the Lord’ (Romans 12.19).

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