What is it about a good news-gathering movie? The pleasure of watching skilled, doggedly determined people coming together to tell a story, to shape the chaos of the world into something comprehensible makes for evergreen cinematic fodder, from “All the President’s Men” to “The Insider” to “Spotlight.” Add “September 5” to that list, which tackles the slippery madness of live television reporting, essentially invented by the ABC Sports team during the 1972 Olympic Games in Munich, during the hostage situation that unfolded in the Olympic Village, which ended in tragedy. The massacre still looms large in the historical memory, especially for the Munich-based filmmaking team behind the crackerjack newsroom thriller “September 5.
” Since these were the first Olympic Games broadcast live via satellite, it was also the first time an attack such as this was broadcast to a global audience of millions, a watershed moment in media evolution. At a quick and gripping 95 minutes, it’s remarkable how writer/director Tim Fehlbaum marshals a large ensemble cast, makes an already well-known event feel like an urgent and unpredictable crisis, and allows the audience to ponder the larger implications of the characters’ choices. The script is by Fehlbaum, Moritz Binder, and Alex David, and Fehlbaum’s crew delivers an impeccably crafted piece of filmmaking that spills the guts of live TV in fascinating ways.
Cinematographer Markus Förderer’s camera restlessly roves.
