- Date of Release: 13 December 2024
- Genre: Drama, History, Thriller
- Language: English
September 5
Introduction
The 1972 Munich Olympics will probably go down in history as one of the darkest sporting events of the 20th Century. The onslaught of the members of the Israeli Team by a terrorist organization Black September does paint a terrifying picture, leading to a hostage drama that ultimately led to a tragedy. Yet, the date 5th September 1972 can be viewed from different points of view. One being that the date marked the first instance of a terrorist activity being caught on camera that saw a viewership of over 900 million. And two, that West Germany saw the death of more innocent lives, specifically Jews on their land. These are the kind of questions that the makers of the English film September 5 wish to float. At the heart of it, it remains a tense vantage point drama that unfolds amidst the chaos ensuing in the control room of a sports news channel. But the political undertones along with a commentary on media ethics cannot be completely ruled out here, in a drama that is tense, raw and unsettling with its tone.
Story & Screenplay
In 2025, we all have been privy to the global phenomena Squid Game, and how the kind of end-user capitalism of wanting to witness chaos and death laced its narrative (and another reason why chaotic shows like Big Brother and Big Boss are popular). Keeping that in mind, September 5 highlights the same set of tropes based on a true event that actually makes it all the more unsettling – it is human tendency of wanting to witness chaos that is presented to them on their screens. Therefore, in a latter scene in September 5 when a character exclaims that the viewership of the hostage drama is more than a prior event of Neil Armstrong landing on the moon, it immediately creates a flurry of emotions with a bitter after-taste. Hence in many ways, the drama here ties up the ethics of the media as a trigger point for this phenomena. In an early scene, you see the president of the ABC Sports channel Roone (Peter Sarsgaard) wishing to dramatize the victor of an American born Jewish athlete by giving it a Holocaust angle (remember the games were held in Munich, West Germany). But, this solely remained an early sign of sensationalism, something that we see at a drop of a hat in today’s times.
The year of 1972 holds a lot of significance in the context of the games given that it was only two generations earlier that the land of Germany was witness to the phenomena of holocaust that saw thousands of innocent Jews being killed. Therefore, the psychological impact of the people of the country was pretty much prevalent in wanting to break the image of the nation. So, it hardly did come as a surprise that one of the junior correspondents Marianne (Leonie Benesche) has an empathetic outlook towards the newfound terror in the Olympic village that the sports channel is stationed in. According to her, the nation would stand to lose a great deal.if ‘another innocent life’ is lost. Hence, the internal dynamics of the group along with the conflict of carrying out their respective jobs does form the crux of the drama.
The proceedings are chaotic with little to no emphasis given on the context of the events. There was a sense of claustrophobia engulfing the narrative as well, even as all the chaos ensued inside a narrow news room with televisions stationed that play out the event. And in multiple instances, you tend to question the ethics of the group in aspiring to showcase something that people would ‘want to watch’ versus their journalism values of holding on to some critical pieces of information, and keep it discreet from the reach of the terrorists. If you remember, years later another 2008 event with respect to the Indian media did play out in a similar space, wherein the media portals conveniently passed on crucial bits of information which was misused in the attacks, thereby resulting in more number of people getting killed.
The writing did touch upon the cut-throat competition between the media portals that was a further contributing factor to the chaos. The idea of having the first mover advantage in the film – be it offering to swap the satellite slots for the coverage or literally leaking an unverified claim in the name of the ‘truth’ were just some of the instances that made you question the integrity of the characters. This may well have been the start of an era for the media which would aspire to ‘win at all cost’ by even disconnecting from the truth, or alternately the impact of the truth, the repercussions of which we see even today. The geo-political background was a good reference point for the trigger of the unfortunate set of events – the clash between Israel and Palestine, America’s authoritative take on West Germany, all of which combine to contribute to the chaos in the drama. But the one thing that was a glaring gap for the characters was a sense of neutrality – of wanting to report the truth without having any political affiliations, that was prevalent at the end. And by the time, realisation would set in with respect to a ruthless character, it was already too late! The screenplay does provide you room to absorb the shortcomings of sensationalism while equating it to the chaotic times of the present, and reflecting on the scope of an alternate history that may have paved its way, had certain ethically decisions been kept under wraps!
Dialogues, Music & Direction
The dialogues are laced with a sense of purpose and tension that collectively add a layer of intrigue and intensity to the drama. The BGM definitely allows you to imbibe the raw aesthetics of the drama by creating a deluge of tension that creates an impact at a psychological level. You are thoroughly soaked in the urgency of the drama even as the frames quickly alternate between television sets while also briefly panning in on the characters at work. In a scene, you also spot a masked assassin that paints a fearful picture almost instantly sending a shiver down your spine. This, even as the frames refrain from using blood splatter, violence and gore as tools to boost the narrative. The fact that the POV of the media personnel doesn’t change despite the shift in positions of the terrorists from the Olympics Village to a military airport later on, meant that the quest of the frames (and writing) was to just highlight the escalating tensions in the meeting room. The editing is razor sharp wasting no time in setting the context of the drama while expertly crafting a tension-riddled drama that creates a lasting psychological impact. Director Tim Fehlbaum does a wonderful job in creating a sense of tension as an upper layer in the drama while reserving the political commentary and traces of sensationalism as an undercurrent. Therefore, while you are constantly engaged in the drama, you are forced to ponder on the what-ifs in the drama which automatically creates a lasting psychological impact. The direction is purposeful here and makes for a lasting impression.
Performances
The performances are wonderful by the members of the cast. One driving point of the narrative also remains the character dynamics between the characters that subverts the drama in a way. Ben Chapling as Bader is a character that has his integrity in check, partly because he has also been witness to the holocaust given his Jewish origins. And this complex streak is wonderfully explored in a subtly understated act. Peter Sarsgaard as Roone is more authoritative with his execution, a trait that is nicely explored by his immaculate performance. Leonie Benesch (The Teacher’s Lounge) as Marianne is sincere and earnest while tapping into her traits of empathy (given her German origins in the post Holocaust era) expertly. John Magaro as Mason remains a complex character often torn between his duty and his beliefs. And while the latter wins for most parts of the runtime, you see his vulnerability wonderfully coming to the fore at the end that is reflective in many ways about his conflicting personality. It was a wonderfully measured performance that leaves a lasting impact.
Conclusion
Nominated under the Best Original Screenplay category at the Oscars of 2025, September 5 is a tense and unsettling ‘Vantage Point’ drama laced with a commentary on politics, sensationalism and media ethics that makes for a brilliant watch. This is a drama that is Highly Recommended for its themes and writing.
