What’s September 5 about? Let’s find out together.
September 5 takes place during the 1972 Munich Olympic Games, where the USA’s ABC sports broadcasters were the best set up to follow a Middle Eastern terrorist attack on the Olympic village, live as it unfolded. They battle to overcome obstacles, such as fact collection, broadcasting disputes, and government intervention, while realising in real time the impact they are having in Munich, as well as the rest of the world, receiving their pictures.
I’m going to fast forward to discussing the ending of September 5 because that’s where the magic happens. Leading up to that, of course we get the standard emergency setting, and problem solving in real time, layered by the guise that what we are witnessing is a truly historic groundbreaking day – a bunch of unsuspecting people rose to the challenge and changed the standard of journalism. And right up to the ending, these people think they have saved the day, preparing to have some celebratory drinks. But when you watch as many movies as I do – or just trust your moral sensibility – you recognize that everything about this ending seems a little clean. I often talk about movies being like rollercoasters, and this specific peak, this “happy ending”, didn’t feel like it was built to be stable. I wasn’t sure if there would be a fall, having not known of this true story previously, but I also suspected there could be, and sure enough, I was right.
Because there were so many mistakes along the way, that our characters roll with, trying their best, but even in their combative intensity, you’d have to conclude negligence. They don’t realise they’re broadcasting in the athlete’s village. They have chosen to keep the story as sports reporters, over handing it over to world news, who would have proper sensitivity training on the issue, and so it’s not like these people were the only ones who could bring about this story, as the last defense; for they merely wanted it. Even the way first-time control room head Geoffrey Mason (John Magaro) orders his subjects – Marianne Gebhardt (Leonie Benesch) especially – is cold and direct, and made me think he wasn’t a worthy leader, despite him always getting the job done as our leading man. And then when Geoffrey decides to go with the news that the hostages are safe, despite the appropriate confirmation, it appears he has made the right call anyway, never mind that the process of decision making was conceited. But then, the most realist thing about the movie finally comes when Geoffrey tells Roone Arledge (Peter Sarsgaard) that the day “was a catastrophe”, and you know what, he’s spot on. Couldn’t have said it better myself. So, September 5, it’s a different movie – it’s a deep endeavour into the breach, and instead of presenting a groundbreaking triumph in human achievement, which we know is a cinematic staple, the destination is a horrible skidding error. And perhaps the start of sensationalism that is still a prominent factor in live news today. Apparently, this was the first terrorist attack ever broadcast live – grubby business.
September 5 has been nominated by the Academy for Best Original Screenplay, and it is head and shoulders above Saturday Night for keeping the action always in motion, with the appropriate stakes, and its ability to focus in on many moving and important characters, while concurrently building intensity. Both movies utilise a seventies aesthetic too, but I’m obviously bigger on this one, and admire its flow. The poignant destination is well buried too, and only adds a resonating clang as the dust settles, when it is revealed what we just watched is a disaster. It’s hard not to be rooting for Geoffrey right away – he is our underdog, and he is our anchor. The character of Marianne is good too, and I really appreciate how she is able to bring in the context of what the Munich games mean to Germany. History is such a funny thing, where often events can seem so long ago and counteract with an idea of modernity – last year I wrote about how the Vietnam War was happening at the same time as the space race, which blew my mind, and now this depiction shows that live television only existed less than 30 years after the end of WWII 😮 Munich also hosted Jewish and diverse athletes less than 30 years after the Second World War, while all eyes were on them as the world’s stage, and while tensions for affected peoples are still felt today. How’s the cahones of the Olympics to go to Germany at that stage? 🤯 Anyway, to finish off comments on the characters and performers, Sarsgaard’s Roone Arledge initially seems to have the touch too – he knows how TV works, and is almost autistic in his dedication. But with how the stage is set for lightning in a bottle, it ultimately only reveals his arrogance.
During the movie, I was reminded that I have to watch The Front Runner again, about the first time a politician’s personal life became fair game, and how that became a gamechanger for political journalism as well. Here, it seems the participants should’ve been more aware of the ramifications of their broadcast – whether they were accessible in the village, and the emphatic effects of their images. Even more, I noticed through the movie that I wasn’t receiving an appeasing balance of the technical innovation alongside the actual fraught emotionality of the attack; but I can grant in hindsight that it’s probably accounted for by the ending, where this journalist team had glory as their main driving force, more so than the humanity. Spotlight is the opposing example here, that is able to showcase the hard work of the exposé along with always keeping the emotional burden of the situation on the surface; how it affects individuals, and how it will affect the town, along with the world. But September 5 achieves what is sets out to do, and is a cautionary tale, and not a fun watch, despite gripping intensity. It’s a movie with a merit beyond its means, and I will walk away with a sturdy example on how to “anti” a movie genre, or make the sole goal to crash at high speed into a wall for the greater good of the lesson. Director and co-writer Tim Fehlbaum has done swell.
4.0
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