Vengeance, Munich, Spielberg and clarity

Former Margaret Thatcher advisor John O'Sullivan dissects Steven Spielberg's highly questionable movie Munich in light of its debut in the UK. The discussions, reactions and ludicrous statements are highly interesting.

First, O'Sullivan notes and ridicules this gem from a Munich producer complaining about the objections that conservatives and Israelis have voiced to the tone, factual accuracy and message of the movie:

. . . one of its producers, Kathleen Kennedy, [lamented] that "we always knew...there were going to be people who were not going to be open to a discussion."

These conspirators have now spoiled Munich's chances in their typically perverse way — by openly discussing it. Or, as Kennedy puts it in her wittily paradoxical way: "We live in a time where there is a very loud and strong right-wing constituency that is hellbent on suppressing any of this kind of dialogue."

Their methods are devilishly cunning, Watson — they suppress dialogue by taking part in it "loudly." If only these suppressors were themselves suppressed, then the advocates of a free and open dialogue could enjoy the monologue of which they have been so wickedly deprived by point-scoring Trappists.

More difficult for Spielberg: criticism from the author of the book he based the movie upon and praise from the British press' biggest George Galloway sympathizer:

The criticism came from Canadian journalist and author, George Jonas, (and old friend and former colleague of mine) who wrote Vengeance, the book on which Munich is based; and the praise from pro-Palestinian British journalist, Robert Fisk. If anything, Fisk's praise was more damaging than Jonas's criticism, since it praised what Spielberg denies: namely, that "the film deconstructs the whole myth of Israeli invincibility and moral superiority . . ."

The most interesting parts of O'Sullivan's lengthy deconstruction of the movie are in O'Sullivan's comparison of the book Vengeance with the movie inspired by it. A very interesting discussion of the movie, terrorism, morality and politics.