Spielberg film looks at Munich Olympics
(AP)
Updated: 2005-12-05 10:01

Steven Spielberg is taking on terror. His latest film, "Munich," centers on the aftermath of the killings of 11 Israeli athletes at the 1972 Olympics in Munich, Germany.

Steven Spielberg poses in this Feb. 17, 2005 at DreamWorks in Universal City, Calif. Spielberg's latest film, 'Munich,' centers on the aftermath of the killings of 11 Israeli athletes at the 1972 Olympics in Munich, Germany. 'I don't think any movie or any book or any work of art can solve the stalemate in the Middle East today,' Spielberg tells Time magazine in its Dec. 12 issue. 'But it's certainly worth a try.' [AP file]

"I don't think any movie or any book or any work of art can solve the stalemate in the Middle East today," Spielberg tells Time magazine in its Dec. 12 issue. "But it's certainly worth a try."

Eric Bana ("Troy") stars as a Mossad agent who leads a secret Israeli squad assigned to assassinate 11 Palestinians suspected of planning the killings.

"We don't demonize our targets," Spielberg says. "They're individuals. They have families. Although what happened in Munich, I condemn."

Spielberg and screenwriter Tony Kushner would not reveal the identity of the man Bana portrays, whom they interviewed at length.

"There is something about killing people at close range that is excruciating," Spielberg tells the magazine. "It's bound to try a man's soul."