Munich has a special significance for me… as a young lad in 1972, the notion of watching the Summer Olympics in Munich was a special treat for me. It’s important to note that these were the days of four television channels, and it was rare to see exotic sports on TV. I remember watching the Olympics in disbelief as Jim McKay gave a minute-by-minute account of the acts of the Palestinian terrorists. I couldn’t comprehend why someone would want to murder Israeli athletes participating in International competition.
I also recall visiting Munich on business in late 1997 with my father… we arrived on a surreal early winter day when there were light snow flakes falling. I mentioned to my father that the snow flakes gave an appearance of what it was probably like when there were ashes floating in the air from the Concentration Camp crematoriums. As we were waiting for the efficient German subway, I remarked to my father “Do you think it’s a good idea for two Jews to board a train in Germany?” (Odd sense of humor, huh).
Now we come to the Steven Spielberg movie, “Munich”. Given the actual facts and history, the fictional presentation by a prominent movie maker is a major disappointment to me. The movie has been severely criticized by many pundits, and there is a very comprehensive and cogent analysis that appears in Commentary. Needless to say, I’m pleased that the film has performed poorly at the box office.
I would have to agree that Munich was disappointing. In a world of right and wrong it is difficult to not choose sides. Speilberg tried hard to do it in this movie, perhaps harder than he should have. The result was a poor retelling of the story when compared with the original television footage. I too sat on the living room floor glued to the TV during the real event and being somewhat younger than DZ 😉 had a hard time comprehending it. My sense of disbelief was nearly as strong after watching Munich.