As a control room producer in a previous life, September 5 left me feeling nostalgic for the adrenaline rush that comes with bearing witness to history in real time while (hopefully) keeping your cool. The film does a solid job capturing that vibe as it recounts the deadly hostage situation that occurred during the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich— through the lens of the ABC Sports control room. For many, the memory of sports anchor Jim McKay announcing solemnly “they’re all gone” is all that resonates from that day. But a lot was going on behind the scenes of the marathon broadcast that reached an estimated one billion viewers around the world.
The day started like any other with a shift change that put coverage of the games in the hands of a young sports producer, Geoff Mason (John Magaro). When gunshots can be heard emanating from the nearby Olympic Village, and a masked gunman appears on a balcony, Mason calls-in his boss Roone Arledge (Peter Sarsgaard). Arledge then calls the network execs and proceeds to tell them that ABC Sports will handle coverage of whatever situation is unfolding since they are on-scene and it’s their story. (It’s an age-old turf battle— what division owns a particular story). Mason is then tasked with coordinating the producers, technicians, camera operators, reporters and anchors to relay the developing story: Eleven members of the Israeli Olympic team have been taken hostage by Palestinian militants. At least two are dead.
There are no spoilers here. The events of September 5 and its aftermath have been explored before, most notably in Steven Spielberg’s Munich and the documentary One Day in September. What September 5 offers is a different, narrow perspective purposely devoid of graphic violence. The elements of the story are contained to whatever audio and visual information filtered through the control room that day— including commentary from reporter Peter Jennings (Benjamin Walker) who could offer insights on the geopolitical forces in play.
Most of the characters are based on real people— including Mason, Arledge, Jennings, and ops engineer Marvin Bader (Ben Chaplin). A German interpreter (Leonie Benesch) featured in the film is a composite character. She helps the ABC crew monitor and translate information from local news sources and German law enforcement, who are woefully unprepared for an event of this magnitude. Archival footage of Jim McKay plays in the control room monitors.
September 5 aims to recreate the tension and frustration felt in the control room and on the set as rumors spread, misinformation abounds, satellite time has to be negotiated, sources have to be evaluated on the fly, and decisions have to be made on what to share with viewers when lives are in the balance and families, or even the militants themselves, may be watching. The film poses ethical and moral questions that still resonate today and are perhaps even more challenging given the advances in technology and the prevalence of social media.
Overall, the film from Swiss director Tim Fehlbaum (who went to film school in Munich) is an interesting watch, though it feels longer than its 94 minute run time and doesn’t have the sustained drama or intensity of a Munich or Argo. I actually left the theater thinking that it resembled what could have been a “very special episode” of the Aaron Sorkin comedy-drama television series Sports Night. Only the script would have been snappier. I miss that show.
Arty Chick’s take: September 5 is my birthday and that year it was my sweet sixteenth so I remember that day very well. My friends were all at my house. We were watching the Olympics because another friend from out home town who was a swimmer was competing and we were all excited. But then everything changed. I’ve seen the other movies that Mainstream Chick referenced and they are definitely a lot more dramatic, but this one gives you such a different feel for the story. It’s about the people who are filtering the story out to the rest of us, deciding how we are going to see it, questioning whether it is okay to show someone getting shot on camera, weighing what is good tv against what is fair to a family of a hostage. For that it is worth watching. I particularly liked the German interpreter character and her role in the team.
September 5 opens in select theaters December 13 expands nationwide on January 17.
