Film Review: ‘September 5’ Haunting, Horrifying, Humbling and Timely

John Margaro, Ben Chaplin and Peter Sarsgaard (L-R) star in “September 5” (Photo Credit: Paramount Pictures).

(“September 5” trailer courtesy of Paramount Pictures)

The more things change, the more things stay the same.

Nothing new exists under the sun.

Name a cliché from years past, and it probably holds true today, unfortunately.

As a result, “September 5,” which is haunting, horrifying and humbling, deals with issues that were prevalent during the Holocaust, the early 1970s, and even today with the conflict between the Israelis and the Palestinians.

“September 5” deals with the horrendous terrorist attack against Israeli Olympic athletes during the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich from the viewpoint of journalists who, for the first time, aired a terrorist attack live on television.

Despite what older generations often say, evil has always existed in the world.

Sure, there might have been a time when street violence was not as prevalent as it is today.

But hatred is nothing new.

One of the evilest, if not the evilest, events in world history was the Holocaust.

Because of Adolf Hitler’s evil Nazi regime in Germany, approximately six million Jews were slaughtered in concentration camps throughout Europe.

Hitler and Nazi Germany got the punishment they deserved after World War II concluded.

But it often takes forever to overcome an association with evil.

Although that type of atrocity gets documented in history books in perpetuity, that evil once did not get much airtime on live television.

And when it did, the images created a permanent stain on the hearts and minds of people unfortunate enough to witness it in real time.

In the summer of 1972, ABC had the opportunity of a lifetime.

ABC sports journalists got to work in Germany, covering the biggest sporting event in the world.

With the advancements in technology, their work was seen live throughout the world, bringing an often-divided planet together to celebrate the greatest athletes in the world.

And with the advancements made in German society, the much-maligned country was eager to show how much the nation had changed since the Nazi regime.

So much so that the country did not want too much German security at the Olympic Village for fear that the optics would not look correct.

But chinks in the armor can expose innocent people to violence, and that’s what happens when Palestinian “terrorists” storm the Olympic Village killing Israeli athletes and coaches while taking others hostage.

For the Israeli athletes to go free, the “terrorists” demand that Israel release all Palestinian prisoners by a certain time.

If Israel does not acquiesce to those demands, the remaining members of Israel’s 1972 Olympic team will meet a fatal fate.

The difficult decision for any newsroom is to decide what is too much for viewers, even if it is extremely newsworthy.

At a time of crisis, airing sporting events seems inappropriate, too.

But how will the public handle it if an Israeli athlete is murdered on live television when they have tuned in, thinking that they will see a boxing match or track meet?

Furthermore, what should journalists call the hostage-takers?

Calling them terrorists might prove incorrect if that is even possible.

However, trying to minimize their heinous act can make matters worse, especially considering what demographic group the victims come from and what country the act of violence is occurring.

The biggest dilemma is that many aspiring athletes move from one country to the next to follow their Olympic dreams.

Therefore, what if some of the Israeli athletes are actually from a country receiving ABC coverage of the terrorist attack and relatives learn the fate of their loved one like everyone else, from a television reporter?

And how do American reporters discern fake news from real news in a country where very few of them, if any, speak the language?

Combine that with the fact that Germany has state-sponsored news, which might be more concerned with public relations than people, and ABC might find itself in a precarious position when people’s lives hang in the balance.

“September 5” strikes a great balance weaving in actual ABC footage and interviews from 1972 with the theatric film.

The grainy nature of “September 5” is great for nostalgia’s sake as is the old-school newsroom with the old-school graphics and lower thirds.

Every actor in “September 5” holds their own too, truly showing the stress that journalists must endure to get the story right and respectful.

But the star of “September 5” is John Magaro (“Big George Foreman”), who plays Geoffrey Mason, a sports director now thrust into the role of news director.

As the newly appointed news director during such a tumultuous time, he must navigate the story and provide the best news for the worldwide audience without putting his reporters in danger.

Furthermore, he must cover the story in a way that does not give the terrorists too much information, which could be used to put the Israeli athletes in more danger.

Leonie Benesch also shines as German interpreter Marianne Gebhardt.

In a newsroom full of Americans, the German translator’s job might become the most crucial.

The irony of “September 5” is that it hits theaters the week that a ceasefire deal was reached between Israel and the Palestinians after the terrorist attack on Oct. 11, 2023.

That reality might be a little too much to take for some moviegoers because terrorist attacks have become all too commonplace in modern society.

And sometimes, the same culprits are involved.

That reality proves that the more things change, the more things stay the same.

While watching “September 5,” news junkies and journalists will marvel at how far technology has come in over 53 years.

But many will also mourn because society has not come far when it comes to love, unity and nonviolence.

 

REGAL RATINGS

FOUR CROWNS=EXCELLENT

THREE CROWNS=GOOD

TWO CROWNS=AVERAGE

ONE CROWN=POOR

Todd A. Smith
Follow Todd
Latest posts by Todd A. Smith (see all)

    Related Posts

    Scroll to Top