‘September 5’ is a deliciously intense historical drama

By Isaac Steward

One of the best weeks of my year happened over fall break when I attended the Heartland International Film Festival. I spent that whole week in Indianapolis, Indiana, where I watched all sorts of films created by passionate and talented filmmakers. It was at the end of this festival that I was roped into watching the early showing of “September 5,” a German-produced historical drama about the American sports broadcasting crew that covered the 1972 Munich Olympics hostage crisis. This was the first act of terrorism covered on live television, viewed by an estimated one billion people, more viewers than the moon landing.

The film’s not even about the actual terrorist attack, and leading up to the beginning of the film, I was convinced that it would not be very interesting to watch. But, if I’ve learned nothing else this semester, it’s that you can’t judge a film until you’ve seen it for yourself.

“September 5” is an intense and thrilling experience, following Geoff Mason, a young and ambitious producer given the opportunity to lead the day’s live coverage of the 1972 Olympic Games in Munich, Germany. On the early morning of September 5th, Geoff and his team are preparing to cover the events for that day when at 10:00 AM, gunshots are fired in the Olympic village. Eleven Israeli athletes are taken hostage by Black September, a Palestinian terrorist organization. Geoff and his team take it upon themselves to provide live coverage to the world, as the story unfolds just a hundred yards away from their control center.

“September 5” holds your attention all the way through its one-and-a-half hour runtime, as Geoff is faced with leading his team through one of the worst days of all their careers, all while wondering whether they’re even doing the right thing. 

Knowing that people’s lives are in danger, Mason and his team struggle with the morality of what they’re doing. When broadcasting to the world,  how much is too much to show? When people’s lives are on the line, can a journalist go too far?

The whole cast brings their A-game to September 5. Everyone in this film is feeling some kind of pressure. One wrong move could change everything for the worst, and the tension of the situation is apparent in the performances of all the actors. John Magaro gives a brilliant performance as Mason, and Peter Saarsgard nails his role as the ABC Sports President, Roone Arledge. I was pleasantly surprised to find out Leonie Benesch was in this film, playing Marriane Gebhardt, the team’s German interpreter, having thoroughly enjoyed her performance in “The Teacher’s Lounge.” 

The story doesn’t have time to dive too deeply into the inner workings of each character, but it gives you just enough to believe that these are real people, going through a very real situation. Each character feels the pressure of the situation differently; each one answers to different people, carries their own share of the burden, and is forced to deal with it in their own ways and that tension rubs off on the audience as we watch them fight their way through.

The cinematography in this film is remarkable. Almost every shot of the film is thoughtfully composed and brought together, effectively communicating the complicated nature of the work that Geoff and his team are doing. This thoughtfulness provides a captivating dose of visual storytelling that makes the film not only incredible to watch but also appealing to look at. 

The musical score brings it all together perfectly, elevating the tension of any given scene without taking away or distracting from the actual story. At times, the score seems almost like it should be in a horror movie, but it works well in this film to make you feel the stress, that things are not going well and they could get worse at any moment because that’s how everyone in the movie is feeling.

I couldn’t recommend this film enough, especially if you are a fan of historical dramas. But even if you’re like me and aren’t even a little bit of a history buff, I wouldn’t let that stop you. I’m sure glad it didn’t stop me!

“September 5” will be in theaters on December 13th.

Isaac Steward is a junior BDMJ student and an A&E writer for Cedars. He enjoys analyzing good stories and making cool things. Isaac has never been to the moon or enjoyed peanut butter. Most likely, he never will.

Images courtesy of Paramount Pictures.