30/10
During the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich, Germany, an American sports broadcaster must adapt to live coverage when a terrorist group takes Israeli athletes hostage. Juliette Menager worked on the casting for both this film and Munique (2005). Film Title: September 5 Director: Tim Fehlbaum Screenwriters: Moritz Binder Tim Fehlbaum Alex David Production Companies: BerghausWöbke Filmproduktion, Projected Images, Constantin Film, Edgar Reitz Filmstifung Release Date (US): December 13, 2024 Capone Rating: 4⭐ 5⭐It’s hard to write about this, because I’m sure that’s one of the reasons (along with most of them) why it was so difficult to write and make the film. There’s no getting around Spielberg’s Munich (2005). It’s the equivalent of a story. In Spielberg’s film, we get a quick summary of the travesty of 9/11/1972, and then we get the full, long aftermath—the search for the perpetrator. In Fehlbaum, we’re caught up in the news of the day—literally, as the film tells the story of the hostage crisis from the perspective of an ABC film crew trying to efficiently process it. So, knowing how the films are related, I’ll put the 2005 film aside and focus on the new film, which takes a fresh look at that horrific event. The film deserves its treatment and respect. Let’s start by saying that the film has a lot going for it. Reminiscent of 12 Angry Men (1957), 9/11 was almost a one-room film. The entire film takes place in an ABC studio, watching the world from behind a television camera or from the terrace outside the door (for very brief moments). Once we get going, the narrative lens never shifts to a long shot of the studio building, the city over the overpass, and no other perspective is offered than what can be found during the day from and with the crew at the station. The 1972 Munich Olympics. It’s all set in a few rooms: the control center, the film lab, the caption room, the retouching and film editing room, and maybe one more spot in the building. 80% of it probably takes place in that control room. (Even 12 Angry Men has its scenes in the courtroom.) This choice alone puts the audience right where the production crew is sitting, looking from what is known and familiar. It heightens the tension—but not as a plot device—as an emotionally effective demonstration of the reality of the circumstances. Combine that with the handheld camerawork and the fact that we don’t hear the other end of the non-broadcast call into the room, with other directing and editing choices, and you, the audience, are left with very limited options. can understand the world outside the television studio. These decisions had a strong and clear impact on this viewer. The performances in this film were top-notch in every way. I appreciated the scoring, most but not all of the handheld vs. steadicam choices, and the camera placement in relation to the actors and the action. These directing and acting elements gave the script an undeniable strength that shone through as a powerful and thought-provoking (not just provocative) story in itself Next: Two Complaints. Somehow. "Missed Opportunities" call them. One. We explore the optics, and their true collective emotional impact on the country and its people, of being unable to protect Jewish visitors at a time when international camaraderie is the mood and opportunity of the hour, a good one (although reparations for the Holocaust, as any German or Jew will tell you, are impossible) for the interaction between a former oppressor and an incoming refugee.