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ZURICH 2024

Review: September 5

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- Tim Fehlbaum reconstructs the tragic hostage-taking incident during the 1972 Munich Olympics from the viewpoint of the journalists who covered it

Review: September 5
Peter Sarsgaard (left) in September 5

Screened in a world premiere in Venice where it opened the Orizzonti Extra section, and recently presented in the Zurich Film Festival’s Gala Premieres line-up, September 5, the third feature film by Swiss director Tim Fehlbaum, offers up a meticulous reconstruction of the terrible hostage-taking incident (involving 11 Israeli Olympians taken hostage by a Palestinian terrorist organisation) which took place on 5 September during the 1972 Munich Olympics.

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The defining and guiding feature of this film is the viewpoint of its protagonists; in other words, the journalists, and specifically the ABC reporters, who personally witnessed the tragedy as it unfolded. Over and above the socio-political questions inevitably haunting the film like restless ghosts, especially at this particularly delicate moment in time, the decision to focus on the role played by TV in this event – which broadcast the incident live -  allows the director to shift our attention onto another aspect of the story. In this sense, the main question raised by the film is the role of the media in such situations: where on the border between information and voyeurism does it stand? By showing what’s happening and depicting the horror and violence at play, does it not help, even if unintentionally, to give terrorists greater visibility?

The protagonist of the story is Geoffrey Mason, or Geoff (played by John Magaro), an ambitious producer who’s determined to prove his potential to his long-term boss, Roone Arledge (Peter Sarsgaard). Having arrived in Munich on the second day of the Olympics, Geoff finds himself having to manage a tragic and highly unexpected situation, not least because he specialises in sport! Sucked into the eye of the storm in the company of his team and an intrepid German translator called Marianne (played by Leonie Benesch), Geoff has to come to terms with a cruel yet perversely captivating situation which is dangerously appealing to his ego. Forced to react in real time to the horror of an incident which seems to evade all attempts to control it, the ambitious producer has to make difficult decisions which won’t only go on to mark his career, they’ll also dictate the approach to horror taken by the media, whose ethics aren’t always easy to respect.

A real thriller which keeps viewers on the edge of their seats, September 5 dazzles thanks to the meticulous attention to detail it pays in its painstaking portrayal of the event. This precision is the result of zealous and exacting historical research carried out by the director himself, which saw him availing himself of all available footage from the time and working – together with his team - with the “real” Geoffrey Mason, a sporty reporter who suddenly found himself having to tackle political and ethical questions he probably never thought he’d ever have to consider. The long hours of live reporting he had to endure were a kind of laboratory in which the limits of journalistic ethics were sorely tested. Could yielding to the temptation to broadcast everything they’re seeing not be the equivalent, for the journalists present in Munich in 1972, of leaving the terrorists in charge of a narrative which they’re ultimately trying to dominate? This is the real question which the film’s protagonist has to contend with, despite being paralysed by a tide of contrasting emotions.

September 5 was produced by BerghausWöbke Filmproduktion and American firm Projected Picture Works in co-production with Constantin Film and ERF Edgar Reitz Filmproduktion. Republic Pictures (USA) are handling international sales.

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(Translated from Italian)

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