Munich (Münih)

Directed and produced by Steven Spielberg, Munich (2005) is a historical drama and political thriller drawn from George Jonas's book Vengeance. The story opens with the 1972 Summer Olympics massacre, in which members of the Palestinian group Black September killed eleven Israeli athletes, and then follows the covert Israeli response known as Operation Wrath of God. Avner, a former Mossad operative played by Eric Bana, leads a small team dispatched across Europe to track down and assassinate those believed responsible for the attack, while the moral and emotional toll of their mission steadily mounts. The screenplay was written by Tony Kushner and Eric Roth, and the ensemble cast includes Daniel Craig, Ciarán Hinds, Geoffrey Rush and Mathieu Kassovitz. Spielberg described the film as historical fiction inspired by real events. It earned five Academy Award nominations, including Best Picture and Best Director, grossed around $130 million worldwide despite a modest domestic performance, and was later cited by The New York Times among the best films of the 21st century.