September 5 | Abenity

September 5 (R)

Cast: Peter Sarsgaard, John Magaro, Ben Chaplin, Leonie Benesch

Release Date: December 13, 2024

Runtime: 1 hr. 35 mins.

Genre: Drama

"September 5" unveils the decisive moment that forever changed media coverage and continues to impact live news today. Set during the 1972 Munich Summer Olympics, the film follows an American Sports broadcasting team that quickly adapted from sports reporting to live coverage of the Israeli athletes taken hostage. Through this lens, "September 5" provides a fresh perspective on the live broadcast seen globally by an estimated one billion people at the time.At the heart of the story is Geoff (John Magaro), a young and ambitious producer striving to prove himself to his boss, the legendary TV executive Roone Arledge (Peter Sarsgaard). Together with German interpreter Marianne (Leonie Benesch) and his mentor Marvin Bader (Ben Chaplin), Geoff unexpectedly takes the helm of the live coverage. As narratives shift, time ticks away, and conflicting rumors spread, with the hostages' lives hanging in the balance, Geoff grapples with tough decisions while confronting his own moral compass.

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Review

The 1972 Olympics, the first to be held in Germany since the infamous 1936 "Olympia" edition was presided over by Hitler in Berlin, was intended to be an opportunity for the country (in this case, West Germany) to show how much had changed since the war and how it was now a kinder, more inclusive nation. For roughly nine days, things seemed to be going according to plan. Then came the events of September 5 which forever scarred the '72 games. Although some athletes and their records would be remembered (particularly those of American swimmer Mark Spitz and Soviet gymnast Olga Korbut), the "Munich Massacre" overshadowed everything.

Numerous movies (both TV and theatrical) have been made about September 5, 1972, including the Oscar-winning 1999 documentary One Day in September and Steven Spielberg's Munich, which was as much about the aftermath as the event. Tim Fehlbaum's September 5 finds a new angle for this story, thereby justifying its existence and putting it near the top of the group of motion pictures inspired by the Munich Massacre. By combining archival footage with period-accurate recreations, the director tells the story from the perspective of the ABC sports team that became the West's primary outlet for information about the terrorist attack.

The film works equally well as a thriller and a docudrama. The historically verifiable aspects are accurate and the behind-the-scenes sequences are based on the recollections of the men and women who were there. The screenplay is spartan and all-the-better for it; Fehlbaum doesn't incorporate melodramatic side-stories to add sentiment and increase the running time. 93 minutes is the perfect length. September 5 is not too short and not too long. And, although it provides character sketches of the principals, it doesn't feel the need to go into their home lives or backstories. We see them as they are in the moment, and that's enough.

Fehlbaum's approach to September 5 is not dissimilar to the one employed by director Jason Reitman in Saturday Night. Both films go behind-the-scenes of live television broadcasts. Both employ a "you-are-there" style. Both feature a strong-willed figure in the center of the maelstrom. And both rely on handheld shots to emphasize the immediacy of the experience. It's coincidental (or not) that both films transpire in the early ‘70s - September 5 in 1972 and Saturday Night in 1975. There must be something about the gonzo approach to live television from that era that has captured the attention of filmmakers a generation or two removed. (Fehlbaum wasn't yet born on the day this movie is set.)

As the day starts, things are progressing as normal. Sports director Roone Arledge (Peter Sarsgaard) and producer Marvin Bader (Ben Chaplin) are taking back seats, allowing the unproven Geoffrey Mason (John Magaro) an opportunity to get some experience. He meets the German translator, Marianne Gebhardt (Leonie Benesch), and banters with some of the others in the control room. Then, shots ring out from the nearby Olympic Village. Soon after, reports start coming in of deaths and hostages. Newsman Peter Jennings (Benjamin Walker) grabs a cameraman and heads over. Arledge is informed and comes in. And, as the situation evolves outside, a power struggle develops within ABC as to whether the sports division (which is on-site) or the news division (which is based in New York) should be in control.

Anyone with a modicum of historical perspective knows how this ends yet Fehlbaum, both in the manner he shoots the film and the way it has been edited, keeps the level of tension surprisingly high. The ending may be a foregone conclusion but there are unexpected beats along the way and we become more invested in how the television participants adapt and react to the changing circumstances than in the fate of the nine Israeli hostages and their Black September captors. In the end, September 5 is less about the crisis than one television network's attempts to provide live global coverage of a major news event - the first time this was done (and the template for many similar things that happened in the future).

Perhaps the greatest strength of the movie is its ability to stay on point. Although the temptation must surely have been great, September 5 never veers off course toward the landmine of maudlin manipulation. The tragedy is approached with clear eyes and the perspective never varies from that of the ABC crew. During the airport confrontation, we remain back at the Olympics with Arledge, Bader, and Mason, staying with them as differing reports come in. Fehlbaum uses actual broadcast footage to put an exclamation point on the faux accuracy, including Jim McKay's reporting. He won an Emmy for his work in this situation and his most remembered lines - "When I was a kid, my father used to say ‘Our greatest hopes and our worst fears are seldom realized.' Our worst fears have been realized tonight. They've now said that there were eleven hostages. Two were killed in their rooms yesterday morning, nine were killed at the airport tonight. They're all gone." - are presented on a TV screen not through a re-creation. (McKay appears only through archival footage, although there are a few instances when we see a body double from the back or blurred in the background. No attempts are made to bring him back digitally. This old-school approach works while honoring his legacy.)

With September 5, Fehlbaum has crafted one of 2024's most unlikely thrillers. It's also one of the best movies to reach screens in a year when genuine tension has been too often absent from films in which it should have been a key ingredient.

© 2024 James Berardinelli

September 5 (R)

Review

Synopsis