September 5

September 5
Starring Peter Sarsgaard, John Magaro, Ben Chaplin, Leonie Benesch
Directed by Tim Fehlbaum

Before "fake news" became a modern slang, journalists were respected and valued for their contributions to society, telling the news without bias, and getting into the thick of things faced with life-or-death decisions at a moments' notice. Films like "All the Presidents Men," "The Post," and "Spotlight" introduce us to this foregone way of telling the news, before the twenty-four hour news cycle inundated us with more bias journalism, and having to fill a full day of news everyday, as opposed to back in the 70s and 80s when news lasted about a half hour a day. "September 5" is one such film, focusing on not news journalists but rather sports reporters who are thrust into the most shocking moments in Olympic history, where they're faced with telling the news while also concerned that their story will tip off the terrorists and make things even worse.

In Munich, the ABC sports news team led by network executive Roone Arledge (Peter Sarsgaard) are covering the exciting Olympic games, with producer Geoffrey Mason (John Magaro) at the helm. Things are going normal until they hear shots ringing out at the Olympic Village, and learn that the Palestinian terrorist group known as Black September has taken nine Israeli athletes and their coaches hostage after killing two more. While the news division wants to take over, Arledge and Mason keep reporting from their close vantage point that creates a rift between the news and sports division. More importantly, Mason discovers that the terrorists have televisions and probably know what they're reporting on, and worries that their reporting will tip them off to what the police are doing.

"September 5" is a small thriller set within the confines of the ABC sports news team studios, with a couple scenes taking place outside, but mostly enclosed in that small space. This helps amp up the tension and suspense, accompanied by the shaky camerawork that thrusts you into the thick of things. Rather than show you the events happening, you hear through newscasters who are on the location but can't use their cameras, which adds even more suspense to the proceedings. It might not seem like a thriller, but the performances make it all the more exciting and tense, and anyone who knows the true story will know the outcome that caused journalists to look more into what they're doing and valuing their contributions to telling the world what's happening.

John Magaro holds the film together as the producer Geoffrey Mason, who never gets a moment to breathe as the gunshots sound and he's faced with life-or-death decisions that could echo throughout the world. Organizing his team to report on what's happening, While the film doesn't delve as deep into the political happenings of the events, it does a great job establishing the suspense and tension, and on top of great performances it rests well in the history of journalistic films.

The Score: A