September 5

The ABC Sports Team provide live coverage of a hostage situation at the 1972 Munich Olympics in September 5. The 1972 Olympic Games in Munich, Germany were the first to be broadcast live across the world via satellite. On September 5, 1972, Geoffrey Mason (John Magaro) is beginning his first day as Executive Producer of ABC Sports’ broadcast, taking over the shift of ABC Sports President Roone Arledge (Peter Sarsgaard) as the recommendation of VP of Olympic Operations Marvin Bader (Ben Chaplin). Also on her first day with ABC is the new German to English translator Marianne Gebhardt (Leonie Benesch).

The quiet of the early morning shift is disrupted when gunshots are heard from the Olympic Village, located only 100 yards from ABC’s studio. It soon becomes apparent that Palestinian terrorists have taken the entire Israel Olympic Team hostage. Roone Arledge is called back to the studio to help with reformatting the sports coverage into a live news broadcast covering the terrorist situation as it happens.

September 5 Synopsis

September 5 is a thriller co-written and directed by Tim Fehlbaum, which depicts of the hostage situation from the 1972 Munich Olympics, told from the perspective of ABCs coverage, which marked the first time a terrorist situation was covered live. The film stars Peter Sarsgaard (The Batman) as ABC Sports President Roone Arledge, joined by John Magaro (Past Lives, The Big Short, Overlord) as Geoffrey Mason, Ben Chaplin (The Thin Red Line, The Dig) as Marvin Bader, and Leonie Benesch (The Teachers’ Lounge) as Marianne Gebhardt. Over the course of the next day and night, Arledge, Mason, and the rest of the team have to deal with satellite schedules and police raids to cover this hostage situation as it happens.

My Thoughts on September 5

Due to both films covering the same events, September 5 is sure to result in comparisons to Steven Spielberg‘s 2005 thriller Munich. However, while Munich was an espionage thriller based on the director aftermath of the Munich Olympics hostage situation, September 5 depicts the events more or less in real time, utilizing real archival news footage of ABC anchor Jim McKay and reporter Peter Jennings. I would argue that September 5 has more in common with Argo, another film dealing with a 1970s hostage crisis.

Ironically, September 5 is more timely a film today with its plot about the 1972 Munich Olympics than Munich was back in 2005. This is due in part to the renewed conflict between Israel and Palestine over the last year or so. With there being much more sympathy towards Palestine today, it would be hard not to view this terrorist situation differently than the media did in 1972. An interesting scene of the film involves a phone call with Peter Jennings (voiced by Benjamin Walker) before the first news report, where he warns about using the term “terrorists” to describe the Palestinians, since it would insinuate a political agenda. That said, Tim Fehlbaum makes the smart choice not to inject modern politics in this story, instead focusing on accurately recreating the events as they happen.

September 5 does not bog its cast down with star power, with Peter Sarsgaard arguably being the most familiar face for viewers. If anything, September 5 can be a star-making vehicle for John Magaro, having spent much of the last 15–20 years appearing as “that guy” in films, dating as far back as Wes Craven’s My Soul to Take. As for September 5’s third year, Ben Chaplin, he probably still best known in his three decade long career for playing one of the central protagonists of Terrence Malick’s The Thin Red Line in 1998. The only major female role in September 5 is German actor Leonie Benesch, star of last year’s Oscar nominated drama The Teachers’ Lounge, who plays the ABC Sports team’s German translator Marianne Gebhardt.

In a less stacked year, September 5 is a film that could have been a dark horse candidate for Oscar contention. However, even without awards season accolades, the film is a tense thriller about this event, even if you already know how the Munch Olympics hostage situation concluded. That alone is an accomplishment for German-Swiss director Tim Fehlbaum, with September 5 being only his fourth feature and the first in English. Altogether, this is a film worth checking out.

Trailer for September 5