Introduction
The film Munich explores the historical events at the 1972 summer Olympics, where a Palestinian terrorist group attacked members of the Israeli Olympic team. The film is partially based on Vengeance, a book written by George Jonas that describes the assassination campaign, also known as the operation “Wrath of God” (333). The film features a complex approach to the themes of justice and morality and countries’ interactions through politics, diplomacy, and terrorist acts. The motifs of home and family in the character’s motivations and perceptions are also present in the film. This essay will explore and analyze how the importance of family and home themes adds meaning to the film.
Main body
The family connections and their importance and family perspective of the events are presented several times throughout the film. The main character Avner was given a mission to assassinate eleven people allegedly involved in the Munich massacre based on his father’s heroic merit and the close connection his family shared with the prime minister. The prime minister also mentions that she could not attend the athletes’ funerals due to her sister’s death and states that in such cases, family comes first. Family being the first place of interest presents a running theme in the film. The main character is different from others because he grew up in the “kibbutz,” an agricultural community in Israel (Munich). He was raised with a significant connection to the country that replaced a motherly connection. Therefore, he forsakes his family and pregnant wife to fulfill his duty to the country that raised him without the presence of his parents.
The theme of opposition between family and government in the main character’s perception continues in his encounter with Louis’ father. Louis’ father’s main idea that he conveys to the main character is that family is the only thing worth fighting because governments may change. After the main character experiences concerns about the moral of his actions and faces danger in further completion of his mission, he eventually moves to Brooklyn, where he is affected by paranoia and PTSD. After receiving threatening messages about his family being at risk, the main character understands that real family should always come first, and interfering with state affairs out of dedication to the government was wrong.
Even though Steven Spielberg’s film used fictional characters to describe the actual historical events and their aftermath, the contrast between family relations and devotion to the home country provides deeper meaning to the story. The main character is told that his mission will not be supported by the government, as the government formally has no connection to the mission, drawing a parallel between the character’s actions and terrorist acts. The film uses that parallel to emphasize how wrongdoings sourced in devotion to the government or religion could negatively affect real families, as no other thing could replace a real family.
Conclusion
In conclusion, this essay explored and analyzed the themes of home and family in Munich and how their importance for the characters adds meaning to the film. Even though motifs of home and family in the film might not be evident at first, upon careful analysis, it was determined that the themes take a significant place in the story. Moreover, choosing to focus on fictional characters helped the film emphasize the main idea of how the family is the most important thing in people’s lives. It also provides a new meaning of how replacing the family with another thing could have negative consequences.
Works Cited
Munich. Directed by Steven Spielberg, performance by Eric Bana, Universal Pictures, 2005.
Jonas, George. Vengeance: The True Story of an Israeli Counter-Terrorist Team. Simon & Schuster, 2005.