Character Relationship Map: Munich

Characters

• Avner (played by Eric Bana) — protagonist

  Mossad agent of German-Jewish descent chosen to lead a covert hit squad against those behind the Munich massacre. Resigns to operate without official ties, suffers severe PTSD, and ultimately rejects...

• Steve (played by Daniel Craig) — protagonist

  South African driver and Jewish volunteer on the assassination team. Travels to Spain with Avner to locate Salameh, survives the mission, and disputes Avner's theories about their informant.

• Carl (played by Ciarán Hinds) — supporting

  Former Israeli soldier and cleaner on the team. Participates in multiple assassinations, kills a PLO member during an escape, and is later murdered by a Dutch contract killer.

• Robert (played by Mathieu Kassovitz) — supporting

  Belgian toy-maker and explosives expert recruited for the team. Is killed in a workshop explosion during the ongoing mission.

• Hans (played by Hanns Zischler) — supporting

  German antique dealer and document forger on the team. Is found stabbed to death on a park bench.

• Ephraim (played by Geoffrey Rush) — supporting

  Avner's Mossad handler who directs the operation's structure for plausible deniability and later urges Avner to return to Israel, refusing his peace-making dinner invitation.

• Avner's Mother (played by Gila Almagor) — supporting
• Louis (played by Mathieu Amalric) — supporting

  French informant providing targets and safe houses to the team. His potential information leak to the PLO fuels paranoia among the assassins.

• Mahmoud Hamshari (played by Igal Naor) — cameo
• Wael Zwaiter (played by Makram J. Khoury) — cameo

Canonical Relationships

Family, romantic, and professional connections based on plot evidence.

• Avner's Mother → Avner (mother)
• Hans → Ephraim (Professional Mission Contractor) — Hans supports Ephraim's operation through forged documents.

  Hans is recruited as the team's document forger within the deniable operation directed by Ephraim.

• Robert → Ephraim (Professional Mission Contractor) — Robert serves the operation authorized through Ephraim's chain of command.

  Robert is recruited into the covert team created under the mission structure directed by Ephraim.

• Carl → Louis (Professional Intelligence Dependent) — Carl's field work depends on intelligence provided by Louis.

  Carl operates on targets and safe-house leads supplied through Louis's informant network.

Story Dynamics

Alliances, conflicts, and narrative interactions that evolve throughout the story.

• Steve → Mahmoud Hamshari (Conflict Operational Adversary) — Steve participates in the operation against the target.

  Steve is a member of the team that carries out the bombing at Mahmoud Hamshari's home.

• Avner → Mahmoud Hamshari (Conflict Assassination Target) — Mahmoud is targeted as part of the wider retaliation campaign.

  Avner's team detonates a bomb in Mahmoud Hamshari's home in Paris.

• Avner → Wael Zwaiter (Conflict Assassination Target) — Wael is an early target in Avner's retaliatory operation.

  Avner's team tracks Wael Zwaiter in Rome and shoots him while he is living as a poet.

• Carl → Wael Zwaiter (Conflict Operational Adversary) — Carl's mission places him in direct opposition to the target.

  Wael Zwaiter is one of the designated Palestinians targeted during the team's campaign, and the team kills him in Rome.

• Steve → Louis (Conflict Suspected Informant) — Louis becomes a source of mistrust within the surviving team.

  Steve disputes Avner's theories about Louis after the team suspects that information may have been sold to the PLO.

• Avner → Louis (Narrative Informant Contact) — Louis is the team's essential intelligence connection.

  Louis provides Avner's team with information about targets and safe houses.

• Robert → Hans (Alliance Teammate) — Their relationship is defined by shared mission membership.

  Robert and Hans are both recruited as members of Avner's international team.

• Carl → Hans (Alliance Teammate) — They are operational colleagues within Avner's squad.

  Carl and Hans participate in the same covert campaign against the designated targets.

• Carl → Robert (Alliance Teammate) — Their specialized roles complement one another in the operation.

  Carl works as the team's cleaner while Robert handles explosives within the same squad.

• Steve → Hans (Alliance Teammate) — They are linked through the team's covert work.

  Steve and Hans serve on the same assassination team assembled for Avner's operation.

• Steve → Robert (Alliance Teammate) — Their connection is based on coordinated participation in the mission.

  Steve and Robert are both identified as members of the same international Jewish volunteer team.

Story Analysis

A covert revenge mission gradually destroys the certainty, solidarity, and identity of the people carrying it out.

Plot Progression

1. A Mission Without A Flag — The Munich massacre leads Ephraim to assign Avner a deniable assassination mission. Avner resigns from Mossad and recruits Steve, Carl, Robert, and Hans with intelligence from Louis.
2. The Retaliation Campaign — The team conducts bombings and shootings across Europe and joins a raid in Beirut. Their growing success is accompanied by arguments about morality, logistics, and civilian casualties.
3. Enemies Inside The Safe House — In Athens, the team discovers that Louis has placed them near rival PLO members. They survive through false identities, while Avner's conversation with a PLO member exposes the political and moral div...
4. The Hunters Become Hunted — The London attempt fails, and attacks against the squad begin to succeed. Carl is murdered, the team takes revenge, and the deaths of Hans and Robert leave Avner and Steve increasingly isolated.
5. A Peace That Cannot Be Made — Avner fails to complete the Spanish assassination and returns to a life marked by PTSD and paranoia. He rejects Mossad's renewed offer and seeks reconciliation with Ephraim, who refuses the invitation...