September 5 (2024)

"September 5" stars Peter Sarsgaard, John Magaro, Ben Chaplin, Leonie Benesch, Zinedine Soualem, Corey Johnson, Georgina Rich, and Benjamin Walker.  Released on December 13, 2024, the film has a news crew providing coverage of a hostage crisis during the Olympic Games.
​
The film was directed by Tim Fehlbaum, who also directed "Hell" and "Tides".  The Olympic Games have its share of memories that none of us will ever forget.  Some of them were known for bringing inspiration and hope through their underdog stories, while others were memorable for the wrong reasons, mainly the infamous opening ceremony of the 2024 Summer Olympics.  But, in some cases, the competition is popular for incidents so dangerous and life-threatening that they almost derailed it entirely.  One particular event most people may be familiar with was the Munich Massacre during the 1972 Summer Olympics in West Germany.  This tragedy resulted in the death of all eleven hostages, the members of the Israeli team, by the Palestinian militant organization called "Black September" despite the best efforts from the police force to rescue them.  What seemed like a miraculous display of heroism transformed into a horrific crime against humanity that almost canceled the remaining 1972 competition.  Why must every good thing have to be overshadowed by people's stupidity?  This latest historical thriller explores this terrifying and disastrous outcome but from the perspective of the news crew responsible for bringing it to everyone's attention.  That's one thing television is good for aside from mindless entertainment.  Was this news coverage worth covering this holiday season?  Let's find out.

The story centers on the ABC Sports crew led by president Roone Arledge (Sarsgaard).  They're in charge of providing televised coverage for the 1972 Munich Olympic Games, but they soon realize it's far from an easy job.  The competition took a deadly turn when a militant organization, Black September, infiltrated the Olympic Village and took the members of the Israeli team hostage, demanding the release of a massive amount of prisoners in Israel.  When the crew, including producer Geoffrey Mason (Magaro), caught word of the situation, they decided to capture the action themselves by broadcasting the event live.  However, their risky actions could result in consequences that would affect their jobs and even the hostages' lives.  

There are many adaptations of this tragic situation that have captured the terror of the Munich massacre, including Steven Spielberg's "Munich".  However, "September 5" takes a different approach to the tragedy by exploring the perspective of the ABC Sports crew responsible for broadcasting the event.  With this point of view, it takes audiences on a stressful one-day journey to accomplish a task no other broadcasting station had dared to perform: broadcasting the act of terrorism live in front of millions of people.  This method can be challenging to implement since most of the action takes place outside the studio, as it has to rely on drama and single-location anxiety to maintain the film's suspense.  Fortunately, Tim Fehlbaum and the crew were able to accomplish this task, although the approach may not work for everybody.

With the story only occurring inside the studio, there's little to explore outside of what we'd expect.  This is more of a straightforward and restrained narrative depicting the crew's attempt to get the scoop of the century.  We see these characters as authentic human beings risking their careers to make a daring approach to news media that resulted in them making history.  Of course, for those familiar with the event, it didn't turn out how they had hoped, but at the very least, the risk paid off well for the broadcasting team.  The screenplay by Moritz Binder, Fehlbaum, and Alex David did shy away from exploring more of these characters outside the predicament, but as a straightforward thriller, it hardly needed to.  Amid the hostage situation, the film also explored the functionalities and technology of the broadcasting system in the 1970s and how they affected the competition between the different news studios, including having to share the satellite.  But, most importantly, it's a reflection of a broken hope caused by terrorism, mainly since it occurred in Germany that's notable for its violent history.  Despite its straightforward characters and the limitations of the location, its tight script successfully captured the operations behind the broadcast with intelligence and a genuine sense of despair while honoring the lesser-known underdogs that changed news broadcasting.

Tim Fehlbaum also ensured that the suspense is just as gripping as the story through his direction.  I hadn't watched any of Fehlbaum's previous works before "September 5", but regarding the reviews they've been getting, he seems like the type of filmmaker who can go in either direction based on their vision.  After watching "September 5", I would gladly say he's heading in the right direction in his career.  As mentioned earlier, it's challenging to showcase a frighteningly intense scenario from the perspective of an "uneventful" location, notably a news studio.  However, Fehlbaum is another filmmaker who's able to crack this code by balancing the subtleness with the tension of the characters' anxious actions.  It highlights that a nail-biting thriller doesn't always depend on violence and gunfire to get audiences on the edge of their seats.  It also represents the drama of accomplishing the impossible and witnessing the tragedy ourselves, creating an old-fashioned, nerve-wracking experience.  I would also credit the director for displaying the authenticity of the broadcasting facility, ranging from the production design to the use of archival footage from ABC's coverage.  Combine that with Markus Förderer's cinematography and Hansjörg Weißbrich's well-paced editing, and you get a 94-minute race against the clock that's entertaining in its subtle thrills but also faithful to the hostage crisis backed up by its welcoming and grounded perspective.

The cast that brought these characters to life was also superb in terms of their performances.  Peter Sarsgaard and Ben Chaplin were tremendous in their roles as Roone Arledge and Marvin Bader, respectively.  However, the real star was John Magaro, who commanded the crew with his attention-grabbing performance as Geoffrey Mason.  His approach to Mason's subtle yet internally concerning personality illuminated the screen bright enough to elevate the narrative's suspense.  I would also credit Leonie Benesch for her impressive performance as Marianne Gebhardt, a German translator working with the ABC Sports crew.  Marianne's presence worked wonders in playing a key role in the crew's attempt to provide accurate information about the event, and Benesch did a pretty good job expressing her character's humanity through her acting.

Overall, "September 5" is a subtle yet consistently gripping news story that favors authentic and realistic suspense over Hollywood commercialism.  Regarding the screenplay, the limitations of the characters and location can damper its straightforward yet compelling narrative.  Regardless, it is a well-directed and constantly thrilling perspective that honors the operations of 1970s broadcasting and the crew responsible for pulling off this seemingly risky attempt.  The cast was great, Fehlbaum's approach to the dramatic thrills was effectively tense, and the technical aspects, like the cinematography and editing, fit the aesthetics of its timeline and narrative structure.  "September 5" is another strong addition to the holiday thrills catalog that'll likely provide a few jolts this Christmas season besides the usual family offerings.  If it's playing at a theater near you this weekend and you're a fan of drama thrillers, especially historical ones, this film's worth checking out.

B+