A One Mann’s Movies review of “September 5” (2025).
My last film review (of “I’m Still Here“) was about (state) terrorism in 1971. My next film skips just 1 year into the future and moves from Brazil to Germany for some more terrorist action. But this is seen through the eye of a TV lens. “September 5” is about the horrific events that unfolded at the 1972 Munich Olympics when members of the Palestinian Black September movement attacked and then took hostage members of the Israeli team in the Olympic Village.
If there were awards for trailers (and, in fact, on googling it I find that there are!) then the trailer for “September 5” should be right up there in the running for the best trailer of 2025. I noticed that whenever it came on at my local “Everyman”, all of the chatter died down and people watched it intently. I’m glad to report that the film lives up to the hype of the trailer.
Bob the Movie Man Rating:
“September 5” Plot Summary:
A team from ABC Sports are covering the Olympics from their studio a few hundred yards from the Olympic village when gunshots ring out. It turns out they have a ring-side seat for one of history’s most shocking terrorist attacks. But with ABC specialising in live broadcasting for the first time, what should they actually show?
Certification:
UK: 15; US: R. (From the BBFC web site: “Strong language”. )
Talent:
Starring: Peter Sarsgaard, John Magaro, Ben Chaplin, Leonie Benesch, Zinedine Soualem.
Directed by: Tim Fehlbaum.
Written by: Moritz Binder & Tim Fehlbaum, with Alex David.
Running Time: 1h 35m.
“September 5” Summary:
Positives:
- Tense, claustrophobic drama, particularly if you don’t know what happened
- A great ensemble cast.
- A really great script exploring the ethics of live broadcasting.
- An intriguing look into the pre-digital age of broadcasting.
- A fine score.
Negatives:
- I have practically nothing here.
Review of “September 5”:
I had no idea!
A bit like “Companion“, this is a film that is good to go into knowing practically nothing about it. I was 11 years old at the time of these events and clearly protected from the details by my parents. Because, although I was obviously aware of the historical incident, I didn’t remember any of the details. (It’s also 20 years since the Spielberg film – “Munich” – came out and I’ve never rewatched it… which I want to now.) This was ideal. For as the film unfolded I was totally wrapped up in the events on screen.
Tight and claustrophobic.
The film is entirely shot from the perspective of the ABC team, and specifically the viewpoint of four members of the team – Roone Arledge (Peter Sarsgaard), the executive producer; Geoffrey Mason (John Magaro), the rookie show producer; Marvin Bader (Ben Chaplin), VP of Olympic Operations; and Marianne Gebhardt (Leonie Benesch), the German translator on-site. As such, we stay pretty much within the confines of the studio complex from beginning to end.
Perhaps if we, as the audience, were transported to the Olympic village with the mobile reporters or with Marianne to the airport that would have increased the scope of the drama. But keeping it tight and claustrophobic, as the director Tim Fehlbaum has done, makes the film less about the drama going on outside and more about communications, or lack thereof: which is really what the whole film is about.
A great ensemble cast.
What makes this film really work is that the cast is composed of great jobbing actors and not ‘top stars’. If the likes of Matt Damon or Ana de Armas were in these roles then it would have been a real distraction. These are all recognisable actors – Peter (“Memory“) Sarsgaard; John (“Past Lives“) Magaro; Ben (“The Dig“) Chaplin. But they never trigger the “oh, it’s him” thought that takes you out of the film.
Particularly impressive for me is Leonie Benesch who was new to me (I have yet to see the well regarded “The Teacher’s Lounge” in which she stars). Benesch really inhabits the character and her desire to be seen as the “new generation” in post-war Germany shines through with real passion. Once again, I was struck with how “close” World War 2 was to my parents, and all the adults around me, when I was growing up. This is beautifully reflected in the film, with open animosity between the French ABC electrician Jacques Lesgards (Zinedine Soualem) and the German site contact (Ferdinand Dörfler).
A great script.
The script is Oscar-nominated and deservedly so. The film manages to weave in a whole host of intricate themes, notably about the ethics of showing terrorists committing atrocities during a live broadcast. Marvin Bader’s challenge to the team – “If they shoot someone on live television, who’s story is that: is it ours or is it theirs?” – is a goosebump-raising bit of dialogue. It also exposes what a horlicks the German authorities made of the incident. I’d like to think this was creative licence, but this wiki page seems to confirm it was as bad as was shown: worse, in fact, when you find out the disaster of the actions that took place at the airport.
Soldering irons and plastic letters.
What intrigued me with the film was the Heath-Robinson-like nature of broadcasting in a pre-digital age. We see huge reels of tape being loaded; we see captions being produced by a lady adding little plastic letters to a board; we see an engineer soldering cable to a phone earpiece to pick up the audio of a call. All great stuff. I also noted, when ABC need to share their feed on CBS, that they utilised an ABC ‘screenbug’ logo in the top corner of the screen and from the attitude of the rest of the team, this seemed to be an innovative idea. I wonder if that is where the practice first originated?
The score.
Just a final attaboy to Lorenz Dangel for the music score which is terrific: tense and unobtrusive. I’m not sure if he did the music for the trailer as well, but the staccato little motif as the review comments appear is just so great.
Summary Thoughts on “September 5″
A brilliant thriller that I’m rating five-stars. I was struggling to find faults with it to knock it down a half star, but I really can’t. A must watch.
Where to Watch it (Powered by Justwatch)
Trailer for “September 5″:
The trailer is here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Azud40CQ3IE. This is a really great trailer – it really makes you want to go and watch the film.
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I would highly recommend you to watch One Day in September.
That was my first introduction to those events.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/One_Day_in_September
Thank-you very much: I’ll check it out.