MOVIE TITLE: September 5

This riveting historical drama based on true events is now playing in select theaters, as well as on Fandango at Home

RATING: R

LENGTH: 1 hour 34 minutes

Movie Review Mom GRADE: A

IN A NUTSHELL:

German-Swiss filmmaker Tim Fehlbaum created a film that almost looks like a documentary in style; you feel like you were right there with the ABC news crew. He helped write it with Moritz Binder and Alex David.

The docudrama is about the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich, Germany, when an American broadcasting team covered the terrorist events that shocked the world. As a follow-up to Black September, a group of Palestinian militants broke into the Olympic Village, held 9 Israeli athletes hostage, and killed two of them. (I won’t tell you what else happened as a spoiler in case you don’t know what happened.)

September 5, 1972 was the first time an act of terrorism was broadcast live around the world. Nine hundred million people were watching.

Already, the film has been nominated for an Oscar for Best Original Screenplay, among other titles during award season, including nominee for Best Motion Picture at the recent Golden Globes.

TIPS FOR PARENTS:

Kids will be extremely bored.
Talk of the Holocaust
Portrayal of guns, but we don’t see any fired
Some profanity, including F-bombs

THEMES:

Holocaust
Politics
Journalism
Media interference
Professional responsibility
Moral uncertainty
Black September

THINGS I LIKED:

The cast is fantastic and includes Peter Sarsgaard, John Magaro, Ben Chaplin, Leonie Benesch, Zinedine Soualem, and more.
John Magaro is also credited as a co-producer. The first time he was ever on a movie set was as an Extra in the 2005 film Munich!
One of the movie’s producers was Sean Penn.
The dusty color palette immediately takes you back to 1972, making the old ABC footage seamlessly appear as part of the new film.
We get to see original footage from the real 1972 Olympics in Munich, Germany. It’s the actual footage from the ABC broadcasts taken from their archive.
The film does a good job of showing how the media can interfere with live events while trying to report them.
The dialogue is outstanding and shows crew members on the news team debating what they should or should not cover as the hostage events unfold.
Some experts have said that the media coverage during these events gave rise to terrorists across the globe ever since, seeing how broadcasted fear can be powerful. In other words, this movie is still very relevant in today’s volatile world.
This movie will give you goosebumps. The tension is almost nonstop.
The tight spaces of the ABC control room and hallway allow you to feel isolated from the actual events, yet are the heartbeat of the news coverage that was seen worldwide. In the movie, we’re told that more people watched ABC’s coverage of this hostage crisis live than when Neil Armstrong landed on the moon in 1969!
After you watch this movie, you’ll, no doubt, go online to learn more about the events. I love films that make me want to learn and know more.
Really great editing!
The movie is entirely from the perspective of the media. To learn more about the Palestinian terrorists and the Israeli victims of the event, check out the 2005 movie Munich. You’ll see some of the same news footage used in that movie too. It covers everything from the September 5 film in about 10 minutes. The remaining 2 1/2 hours show the aftermath of the 1972 Olympics and how Israel handled the terrorist attack.

THINGS I DIDN’T LIKE:

Some viewers may be interested in history, but most viewers will shrug their shoulders and say it hasn’t changed how they feel about the unscrupulous media.
Young viewers need to recognize that all of this took place in an analog era and with equipment that simply doesn’t do what today’s media can. Gen Z might be amused by the rotary phones, 2-way radios, reels of video tape, and even cigarette smoke filling the TV control room’s workspace.
Some people may wonder why this movie was even made.

FUNNY LINES:

None. This was a serious drama.

INTERESTING LINES:

“It’s not about politics; it’s about emotions.” – Roone Arledge (Peter Sarsgaard)
“We’re following the story, wherever it takes us.” – Roone Arledge (Peter Sarsgaard)
“Let me ask you this. Black September…they know the whole world is watching. That’s why they chose the Olympics. If…I’m saying IF they shoot someone on live television, whose story is that? Is it ours or is it theirs?” – Marvin Bader (Ben Chaplin)