Munich

The credits on Steven Spielberg’s film read Tony Kushner and Eric Roth, but the script passed through several hands first. Janet and David Peoples wrote the initial draft, Roth produced many versions, Charles Randolph polished that work and then delivered a complete draft of his own, and Kushner’s first pass ran past three hundred pages. The source is George Jonas’s 1984 book Vengeance. Shooting ran from late June to early October 2005; the picture was in cinemas that December. None of it was made in Munich or in Israel. Malta stood in for Tel Aviv, Beirut, Athens, Rome and Cyprus, Budapest for Munich, Paris and London; only the Paris and New York material was shot where it is set. The closing shot rests on the New York skyline with the World Trade Center towers in frame, putting 1972 and 2001 inside one image. It took five Academy Award nominations: picture, director, adapted screenplay, editing and original score. It won none. Golden Globe nominations for Spielberg and the screenplay went nowhere too. He described the film to Time as a prayer for peace. A good fit if you care less whether the operation worked than what each killing wears away in the men carrying it out. Not for viewers who want a verdict at the end; the film leaves a question.