Synopsis:
SEPTEMBER 5 unveils the decisive moment that forever changed media coverage and continues to impact live news today. Set during the 1972 Munch 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.
What We Thought:
Despite knowing the outcome of the historical story that inspired the movie, September 5 is still one of my favorite films of 2024. The ensemble cast is fantastic and its short runtime keeps the film on pace and focused on the events unfolding. It’s still timely today, but it also shows how far (good and bad) we’ve come in terms of breaking news stories and journalism.
The film tells the story of the kidnapping and killing of Israeli athletes at the 1972 Summer Olympic games in Munich, Germany. But that is more the backdrop of the movie. Yes that event is the key component to what the news team is reporting on, but the movie doesn’t necessarily take a side. With Israel and Palestine still in the news today, the movie doesn’t beat you over the head with who is right and who is wrong. Instead it is all about the journalists and how they covered it. They were the ABC SPORTS reporters and I capitalized sports there because that’s what makes the movie what it is. These weren’t tried and true news reporters who were used to reporting from battlefields and hearing gunshots. These were sports guys who knew how to put on a sports show and show highlights and stats. It was ABC’s sports team that was closest to the Olympic village and had reporters and crew on the ground. It was up to them to figure out how to tell the world what was happening and boy was that fascinating to me.
In 2024 we don’t respect journalists anymore. With their biased opinion driven “news” and propaganda hit pieces the legacy media decides what the story is today instead of letting the actual story be the story. That wasn’t the case in 1972. The kidnappings were happening and this crew decided it was up to them to get it out there. They moved cameras around. They got film to those cameras. They got people out there to get the story and facts. At the time there was only one satellite in space for the three major networks to share and they had to work around the live broadcast feed. Nowadays we have phones in our pockets that can go live directly to social media when something happens. We’ve come a long way with how breaking news finds an audience. And again I found that aspect of the film fascinating.
Then there is the ensemble cast. Every person in the cast is brilliant and does their part effortlessly. Peter Sarsgaard and John Magaro might be the only faces/names people recognize, but the entire cast is great. Sarsgaard and Magaro are two underrated actors in my book and they lead the charge here. It is one of 2024’s best ensembles for sure and I hope it lands ensemble nominations.
I saw September 5 a few weeks back and I’m still thinking about it. Most dramas like this are usually over 2 hours long, but this comes in around 90 minutes. It jumps right in to the story and never lets up until the events are over. Nothing feels unnecessary. Nothing feels tacked on to “Hollywoodize” the story. Nothing seems overly fabricated for additional drama. I love the way it’s handled and loved how journalists were portrayed as heroes because back then they were. The story came first and getting that story broadcast to the world was the only important factor to them. I really enjoyed this film and I hope people discover it.
HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!
Directed By: Tim Fehlbaum
Cast: Peter Sarsgaard, John Magaro, Ben Chaplin, Leonie Benesch, Zinedine Soualem, Georgina Rich, Corey Johnson, Marcus Rutherford, Daniel Adeosun, Benjamin Walker, Ferdinand Dorfler
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