The murder of 11 Israeli athletes at the 1972 Munich Olympics was covered by Kevin Macdonald's documentary One Day in September and Steven Spielberg's drama Munich. That tragedy is looked at from a totally different perspective in September 5, a hair-raising, tension-filled film. In 95 minutes of extreme tension, it tells the story through the eyes of the ABC Sports crew, who suddenly find themselves covering a global news event.
The day starts out as normal for chief Roone Arledge (Peter Sarsgaard) and his team. Then come reports of what sounds like gunshots emanating from inside the Olympic village. As it becomes more apparent that a hostage situation is taking place, producer Geoffrey Mason (John Magaro) comes up with the idea of taking one of the cameras outside so he can get a nice, close-up angle of the building where the ordeal is unfolding. Arledge, meanwhile, has to fight with the news department for the right to cover the story.
Director: Tim FehlbaumWriters: Moritz Binder, Tim Fehlbaum, Alex DavidStars: Peter Sarsgaard, John Magaro, Ben Chaplin
The suspense is built by depicting how the sports team struggles to react appropriately to a potentially deadly situation. Unable to speak German, they recruit a local crew member (The Teachers’ Lounge’s Leonie Benesch) to translate police broadcasts and press conferences. Arledge engages in tense negotiations with a rival network to maintain access to a shared satellite. The staff tries to get as close to the action as possible after the town is shut down. Because this is a sports crew untrained to cover an event of such magnitude, everything is done on the fly. They are constantly meeting each new development with an improvised response.
It’s physically thrilling to watch, especially as director Tim Fehlbaum takes pains to convey the essential details of the broadcast. The film goes into meticulous detail, showing photographers rushing to develop footage, graphic designers rushing to put subtitles on the screen, control room employees frantically pushing buttons to change camera angles, and so on. These vital snippets are seamlessly integrated with actual footage from the ABC Sports broadcast, giving the film a sense of authenticity that keeps you on your toes.
September 5’s script also has emotion of a more cerebral nature. Arledge, Mason, and operations manager Marvin Bader (Ben Chaplain) continually debate the ethics of covering the escalating crisis. What happens if one of the captors executes a hostage on live television? Is their reporting being watched by the terrorists, and if so, do they have a moral obligation to stop? Issues like that heighten the tension because important decisions have to be made with very little time for the characters to think about them.
The performances in the film are excellent across the board, with each actor effectively capturing what it’s like for their character to be in crisis mode. But they’re also all natural. You can’t single out a standout actor because the entire cast is working collectively to give the story its impact. This is a great example of the magic that a top-notch cast can produce.
September 5 is about a specific historical event. It also speaks to the current state of the media. As acts of terrorism, both foreign and domestic, increase, ethical and unbiased coverage will be more important than ever. The ABC Sports team got the timing right. Will others do the same in the future? You'll be thinking about that question long after the movie is done making you nervous.
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