September 5 – movie review

It was the day live sports coverage became live news coverage of the most heinous kind. That was September 5, 1972. The setting: the athletes’ village in Munich at the 20th summer Olympics. Terrorists affiliated with militant organisation Black September captured and killed 11 Israeli athletes and coaches.

September 5, the movie, tells the story from the perspective of the American TV network covering the Games, that being US ABC. Incidentally, those Olympics were the first to be broadcast live around the world via satellite.

Geoffrey Mason (John Magaro) is a young, ambitious producer. He is keen to prove himself to his mentor Marvin Badar (Ben Chaplin) and their boss, legendary TV executive Roone Arledge (Peter Sarsgaard). Mason is behind the control panel when shots that shock the globe ring out. Suddenly, it is all hands on deck, as Sarsgaard fights for the sports arm of the network, which is on the ground in Munich, to retain control of the unfolding story. Usual practice would have been for news to cover it remotely.

With the help of German interpreter Marianne Gebhardt (Leonie Benesch), Mason and the crew scramble to bring the world unfolding events. There is no shortage of internal and external tension as live pictures capture hooded guerillas on a hotel balcony and hostages in extreme peril.

September 5 is a deeply affecting – distressing – movie to sit through. Watching it, I became quite emotional. It has been remarkably crafted (the production values are phenomenal), mixing broadcast vision from the time with a dramatisation of the events that went down. The looks on the faces of the key players say it all. Their interchanges and what they do feels real. It is most impressive. Bear in mind, this is unlike anything the TV sports team had previously confronted. One of the key questions posed is just how far should they go in telling the story. What do they show? What don’t they?

Then, there is the politics of the situation and the behind-the-scenes political byplay. As Mason, John Magaro comes across as dynamic and competent, while Ben Chaplin, as Badar, is keen to ensure they are on safe ground. Sarsgaard shows real leadership as Arledge and Benesch adds character and depth as the German interpreter, highly attuned to the country’s ignominious past.

For those who lived through the horror of what unfolded at the time, the film brings it all back. For others who didn’t or weren’t even aware of this stain on the Olympics and common decency, it is an eye-opener. Co-writer (with Moritz Binder and Alex David) and director Tim Fehlbaum is to be commended for his focus on authenticity, which extends to the broadcast equipment. While far from an easy watch, September 5 is undeniably gritty and gripping. As far as I am concerned, it is a must see.

Score: 8.5/10

Alex First

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Here are Greg King’s thoughts about the film:

September 5 is a dramatisation of the day that scarred the Olympic Games and the action is largely confined to the ABC makeshift broadcast studio. The film plays out almost like a docudrama. September 5 was written by Swiss director Tim Fehlbaum (The Colony), Moritz Binder (a veteran of German TV series) and first-time feature writer Alex David, who bring a gritty authenticity to the material. The production design from Julian R. Wagner is superb as the film captures the old school technology available to the television crews – there were no mobile phones or computers and the TV crews had to be resourceful in the ways they worked around the limitations.

The film also effortlessly mixes archival footage with grainy newsreel footage that plays out on television monitors, which further adds to the realism and immediacy of the drama. Fehlbaum ramps up the claustrophobic tension and September 5 is an undeniably gritty and emotionally wrought drama. It is one of the best films about journalism since All The President’s Men.

Score: 8/10

Other reviews you might enjoy:

• The Teachers’ Lounge – movie review
• The Sound of Silence – movie review
• Overlord – movie review