Munich (2005)
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A Mossad agent leads a team of volunteers on a clandestine mission to assassinate those involved in the 1972 Munich massacre.
The story
Following the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich, where a Palestinian militant group carried out a terrorist attack resulting in the deaths of eleven members of the Israeli Olympic team, a Mossad agent named Avner Kaufman is tasked with leading a mission to assassinate the perpetrators. To provide the Israeli government with plausible deniability, Kaufman operates without official ties. He leads a team of four Jewish volunteers from across the globe, supported by a French informant. The team travels across Europe and the Middle East to track down and eliminate the targets, while grappling with the moral weight and personal consequences of their clandestine operations.
Full plot (contains spoilers)
After the 1972 Munich massacre, Avner Kaufman leads a team of four volunteers—Steve, Robert, Carl, and Hans—to assassinate eleven Palestinians involved in the attack. They operate under the guise of having no official ties to Israel. The team carries out several successful hits in Rome, Paris, and Cyprus. However, the mission becomes increasingly complex as they face internal conflicts regarding the morality of their actions and the risk of collateral damage. In Athens, they encounter a situation where they must pose as members of other militant groups to escape. In London, their attempt to kill the mastermind, Ali Hassan Salameh, is interrupted by American agents. The team suffers significant losses, including the deaths of Carl, Hans, and Robert. After several failed attempts to reach Salameh in Spain, Avner returns to Israel and later moves to Brooklyn, where he suffers from PTSD and paranoia. The film concludes with a title card revealing that nine of the eleven targets were successfully killed, including Salameh, who was eventually killed in 1979.
- First release year
- 2005
- Runtime (minutes)
- 163
- Production countries
- United States
- Original languages
- English
- Directors
- Steven Spielberg
- Writers
- Tony Kushner · co-writer; Eric Roth · co-writer
- Cast and characters
- Eric Bana · Avner Kaufman; Daniel Craig · Steve; Ciarán Hinds · Carl; Mathieu Kassovitz · Robert; Hanns Zischler · Hans; Geoffrey Rush · Ephraim; Ayelet Zurer · Daphna Kaufman; Mathieu Amalric · Louis
- Genres
- historical drama; action; thriller
- Themes
- morality of violence; consequences of terrorism; identity; trauma
- Tone and mood
- tense; somber; serious
- Setting
- Various locations in Europe and the Middle East during the early 1970s.
- Premise and plot tags
- historical fiction; espionage; political thriller; revenge
- Source material / true-story basis
- Vengeance by George Jonas
- Reception
- The film received generally favorable reviews, being praised for its atmosphere and performances, though some critics criticized its pacing and script. It was named one of the best films of the 21st century by The New York Times.
- Reported review scores
- Rotten Tomatoes · score: 79% · scale: percentage · review count: 210; Metacritic · score: 74 · scale: 100 · review count: 39; CinemaScore · score: B+ · scale: A+ to F
- Awards and nominations
- Oscar · Best Picture · nomination; Oscar · Best Director · nomination; Oscar · Best Adapted Screenplay · nomination; Oscar · Best Editing · nomination; Oscar · Best Score · nomination
- Production trivia
- The film features several real historical figures, including Prime Minister Golda Meir.; The film's score was nominated for an Academy Award and a Grammy Award.
Film metadata comes from the open sources listed in Credits & Contact. Catalogue details may be incomplete.
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