On Monday, 27th January, London Mums Magazine attended an exclusive screening of September 5 at the Ham Yard Hotel in Central London. Welcomed with a generous offering of drinks and canapés, we settled in to watch a film that promised to shed new light on one of the darkest moments in Olympic history. September 5 is released on 6th February 2025.
Directed by Tim Fehlbaum, September 5 revisits the harrowing events of 5th September 1972, when eight members of the Palestinian militant group Black September took 11 Israeli athletes hostage at the Munich Summer Olympics. What began as a global celebration of sport quickly descended into chaos, with 200 million viewers watching in horror as the crisis unfolded live on television. The attack resulted in the immediate deaths of two athletes, while the remaining hostages were held captive as the terrorists demanded the release of over 200 Palestinian prisoners.
The film presents the events from the perspective of an American sports broadcasting crew, who unexpectedly find themselves reporting on the unfolding crisis. Ben Chaplin delivers a strong performance as Marvin Bader, a seasoned ABC Sports producer tasked with overseeing the network’s coverage. ABC, which held exclusive broadcasting rights to the Games in the United States, played a pivotal role in relaying real-time updates to a shocked global audience. The network’s handling of the situation was later criticised for its sensationalist approach, a theme the film explores in depth.
While September 5 offers a fresh angle on the Munich Massacre by examining the intersection of journalism and global tragedy, it struggles to capture the emotional gravity of the event. The pacing is slow, and the film remains largely confined to the newsroom, focusing more on the race to break the story than on the human cost of the tragedy. At times, it is unsettling to see the continued broadcasting of Olympic events while, just metres away, a hostage crisis was unfolding.
The 21-hour standoff ended in catastrophe, with failed negotiations leading to a violent and tragic conclusion.
Verdict
While September 5 offers an insightful exploration of the media’s role in covering real-time crises, it falls short in delivering a truly gripping or emotionally resonant retelling of the events. The newsroom perspective, though compelling, lacks the depth needed to fully convey the human impact of the tragedy.
London Mums Magazine Rating: ????? (5/10)
