Dir: Tim Fehlbaum | Cast: Peter Sarsgaard, John Magaro, Ben Chaplin, Leonie Benesch, Zinedine Soualem, Georgina Rich, Corey Johnson | US Thriller 94’
September 5 takes us back to a time when news events were broadcast exclusively on official news channels in the pre-digital age. It recalls how a dedicated team at ABC Sports covered live footage of the 1972 Munich Olympics terrorist attacks when eleven Israelis were killed due to lax security.
In his impressive third feature German director Tim Fehlbaum captures all tension and nail-biting dread of that fated day on 5th September when accuracy and professionalism were paramount in getting the facts first, but crucially correct. Involving a plethora of technical equipment and a great deal of nouse these news-gatherers overcame considerable hurdles to deliver up to the minute on air coverage as it unfolded.
Peter Sarsgaard is at his best as the terrier-like head of the news team Roone Arledge. The film also stars a fractious Ben Chaplin (Marvin Bader); and Leonie Benesch as Marianne Gebhardt, a local German translator. John Magaro plays team newbie Geoff Mason who turned up for an ordinary day’s work that turned into something quite extraordinary.
All this plunged Germany back into humiliation at the time when the country was still coming to terms with the public shame of the Second World War when many thousands of Jews were exterminated in the Holocaust. And Marvin was himself the son of a victim. A really riveting watch that feels timely despite it happening more than fifty years ago. @MeredithTaylor
IN CINEMAS FROM JANUARY 2025