Movies

Went for my elective today and watched Days of Being Wild by Wong Kar Wai. Didn't know that so many major stars acted in this movie, namely Leslie Cheung, Maggie Cheung, Carina Lau, Jackie Cheung, Andy Lau and Tony Leung. It's quite hard to comment on Wong Kar Wai movies coz the ideas are rather abstract and the main characters are somehow detached from our understanding. Like 2046, it is profound and serious, giving us the rough idea instead of presenting it directly in front of our eyes. Nevertheless, the cast is experienced and they deliver a good job in front of the cameras.

Went to West Mall to watch Munich with Daryl after that. Munich is an allegory on violence and its consequences. The massacre of 11 Isreali atheletes in 1972 Munich Olympic Games by Palestinian terrorists had led to a backlash by the Isreali government. The secret service of Isreal has appointed Avner, Eric Bana, to head an assassination mission targeting the Palestinian terrorists. Violence begets violence and the assassins exterminate the terrorists one by one.

Does that make the assassins terrorists as well? Did Isreal benefit from the execution of the terrorists? These are the questions posed by the movie and it is extremely relevant in present times as well. The political message by Steven Spielberg is strong and it makes us rethink the purpose of "justified" violence.

The images of people blown apart by explosives and shot dead are visceral and they only serve to remind us the tragic cycle of violence. The hunters eventually get hunted and those who survive suffer eternal wounds from the paranoia of being killed and their own regrets.

Munich is the least commercial film i've seen by Steven Spielberg and it is indeed quite a good effort.