Subtlety For Our Time

I heard that Steven Speilberg has a new movie coming out called Munich. Finally, I thought, finally, here's a Speilberg picture I can get behind. Maybe he's finally found a mode other than "epic" or "schmaltzy."

But it turns out that the movie's about some explosions. And not at all about Neville Chamberlain. As I had hoped.

Chamberlain got off the plane after meeting with Hitler in Munich and gave one of the most famous speeches ever: "I believe it is peace for our time. Go home and get a nice quiet sleep."

That, Mr. Spielberg, is tragedy. Sophocles couldn't improve on that.

But I'm sure that the explosion picture will be nice, too, with it's neatly telegraphed and conveniently simple moral complexities and some sort of tidy lesson.