SEPTEMBER 5 : Tuesday 11th February 2025.

I saw the M Rated 'SEPTEMBER 5' at my local independent movie theatre this week and this historical drama thriller is Co-Written, Co-Produced and Directed by Tim Fehlbaum in only his third feature film Directorial outing following 'Hell' in 2011, and 'Tides' (aka 'The Colony') in 2021. This film saw its World Premiere screening at the Venice International Film Festival in late August last year, went on wide release in the US in mid-January and was released here in Australia last week. It has so far grossed US$4.5M, has received generally favourable critical reviews and has garnered eleven award wins and another twenty-six nominations from around the awards and festivals circuit. 

During the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich, West Germany, the ABC Television Sports crew presides over the coverage of the relatively uneventful Games. When Mark Spitz wins his record breaking seventh gold medal in the swimming event over a West German competitor, ABC President Roone Arledge (Peter Sarsgaard) dramatises the win by cutting to his competitor's reaction and planning to introduce the subject of the Holocaust and Nazi Germany during a live interview with Spitz. Marvin Bader (Ben Chaplin), the Head of ABC Operations, questions the decision, with Arledge reminding him of the importance of emphasising emotions over politics to create an effective broadcast.

Later that night, gunshots are heard in the distance. The crew listens in on Police broadcasts, aided by Marianne Gebhardt (Leonie Benesch), the crew's local translator, and gradually learn that a terrorist attack is unfolding in the Olympic Village no more that 200 metres away from the ABC studio. It is reported that militant group Black September has broken into the apartment housing the Israeli team and taken eleven athletes hostage, demanding the release of some two hundred Palestinian prisoners. 

Seeing an opportunity for a compelling story, Geoffrey Mason (John Magaro), the head of the control room, quickly mobilises the crew to switch the coverage of the unfolding hostage crisis instead. Along with Arledge, he takes practical steps to turn the story into a gripping news sensation, negotiating more advantageous time slots and even forging an identification badge so that a crewmember can access the now-restricted Olympic village. The crew are mostly enthusiastic and confident that the whole situation will be resolved quickly and efficiently, but a dismayed Bader reminds Mason and Arledge that the lives of real people are at stake and warns them of the impact they might have on the terrorists' actions.

The crisis deepens due to failed negotiations and mistakes from a largely unprepared and under resourced local Police force. Countless global news stations vie for the latest news and brief images of the standoff, prompting Mason to become more competitive with covering the story. At one point, the crew realises that the terrorists are watching their programme beamed live to every TV in the Olympic Village and around the world, which leads to an attempted rescue failing. Local law enforcement officers storm the control room and threaten the crew at gunpoint to turn off the broadcast, but Mason ultimately refuses and Arledge tells them in no uncertain terms to get the hell out of his studio. The terrorists are eventually transported by helicopter and bus with their hostages to the military airport of Furstenfeldbruck, located some thirty kilometres from Munich, and Mason sends Marianne there for coverage, cynically including a sound technician in the event a shootout occurs.

Marianne, at the airport with other news crews, reports to Mason that the hostages are said to be free, which is apparently confirmed by a German public service television broadcaster. Bader urges Mason to hold off on reporting until the information is confirmed by another source, but Mason is unwilling to lose the scoop and has the news announced, albeit with the caveat that reports remain ongoing. Bader is furious but is pacified when Mason receives an official facsimile soon afterwards claiming confirmation from the German Chancellor. As the crew celebrates with cold beers all round, Mason pivots to planning interviews with the survivors, and Bader celebrates with Arledge in his office. As he watches a live, televised ABC interview with Conrad Ahlers, acting as a spokesperson for the German government, Ahlers speaks of the resolution to the crisis in an optimistic future tense. Realising that the reports the studio received were all incorrect, a horrified Arledge contacts an inside source and learns that the rescue attempt failed and all the hostages were in fact shot and killed.

Mason has ABC Sports Anchor Jim McKay correct the live broadcast, and state the real outcome. Arledge nevertheless praises him for an excellent job, while Marianne mourns that even more innocent lives were lost on German soil, and she and countless other reporters had been at the airport, intent only on getting a scoop while lives were being lost. The crew heads home, and after shutting down all the equipment and closing up, Mason ponders over the studio's bulletin board featuring photos of the eleven victims.

In a closing epilogue, we learn that eleven Israeli athletes and coaches, one German Police Officer and five Black September members were killed on that fateful day. Further text reveals that the event was the first time a terrorist attack had been broadcast on live television around the world and was viewed by a global audience of approximately 900 million, more than the 1969 moon landing, making it one of the most viewed broadcasts in history.

'September 5' tells the story purely and squarely from the perspective of the ABC Sports coverage team and for the most part from the claustrophobic confines of the temporary studio from which they broadcast to the world. It's a tight, tense and taut telling of a day marked in infamy as a group of television journalists and those working behind the scenes in the studio, laid the very foundations of televised media coverage that we have come to take for granted today. It is a well crafted film, a compelling story, well acted (particularly by Magaro and Benesch), and with spot on production values that do justice to the time and place, but still I was left wanting a little more meat on them bones. For instance, more perspective on the eleven Israeli hostages turned victims, or the political shenanigans going on behind closed doors, or the failings of the local Police on the ground . . . you get the picture. That said, the films brisk running time of just 94 minutes, and the authenticity of combining actual archival footage into the films narrative all add up to a film worthy of your cinema ticket price, but it won't be for everyone.

'September 5' merits three claps of the Odeon Online clapperboard from a potential five claps.

-Steve, at Odeon Online-

What's new in Odeon's this week : Thursday 30th September 2021.

The 69th edition of the San Sebastian International Film Festival was held from the 17th through until 25th September. This category A film festival, as determined by FIAPF (International Federation of Film Producers Associations), is held in the Spanish city of Donostia-San Sebastian in September each year, in the Basque Country. Since its creation in 1953 it has established itself as one of the fourteen 'A' category competitive festivals of which it has one of the lowest budgets. Although it was originally intended to honour Spanish language films, films of other languages became eligible for consideration in 1955, and has been acknowledged by the FIAPF as an A category festival since 1957. This years Opening Night film was 'One Second' from China, Directed by Zhang Yimou, and the Closing Night film was 'Las Leyes de la Frontera' from Spain and Directed by Daniel Monzon.

In the Official Selection, the main competition of SSIFF, the Official Jury must grant the following awards : Golden Shell for Best Film (for the Producer), Silver Shell for Best Director, Silver Shell for Best Leading Performance, Silver Shell for Best Supporting Performance, Jury Prize for Best Cinematography and the Jury Prize for Best Screenplay.  

Those films competing for the Official Selection awards this year, together with those winners, are as given below :-

* 'Arthur Rambo' from France and Co-Written and Directed by Laurent Cantet.

* 'Benediction' from the UK and Written and Directed by Terence Davies. The Jury Prize for Best Screenplay was awarded to Terence Davies.

* 'BlueMoon' from Romania and Written and Directed by Alina Grogore. Winner of the Golden Shell for Best Film.

* 'Camila Comes Out Tonight' from Argentina and Co-Written and Directed by Ines Barrionuevo.

* 'Fever Dream' from Peru, USA, Chile and Spain and Co-Written and Directed by Claudia Liosa.

* 'One Second' from China and Directed by Zhang Yomou.

* 'As In Heaven' from Denmark and Written and Directed by Tea Lindeberg. Winner of the Silver Shell for Best Director. The Silver Shell for Best Leading Performance was equally awarded to Flora Ofelia Hofmann Lindahl also for her starring role in this film.

* 'Earwig' from the UK, France and Belgium and Co-Written and Directed by Lucile Hadzihalilovic. Winner of the Special Jury Prize.

* 'The Good Boss' from Spain and Written and Directed by Fernando Leon de Aranoa.

* 'Undercover' from France and Co-Written and Directed by Thierry de Peretti. The Jury Prize for Best Cinematography was awarded to Claire Mathon.

* 'The Grandmother' from Spain and France and Directed by Paco Plaza.

* 'Maixabel' from Spain and Co-Written and Directed by Iciar Bollain.

* 'Fire on the Plain' from China and Directed by Zhang Ji.

* 'Who's Stopping Us' from Spain and Written, Directed and photographed by Jonas Trueba. The Silver Shell for Best Supporting Performance was presented to this films cast ensemble.

* 'The Eyes of Tammy Faye' from the USA and Directed by Michael Showalter. The Silver Shell for Best Leading Performance was equally awarded to Jessica Chastain for her starring role in this film. 

* 'I Want to Talk About Duras' from France and Written and Directed by Claire Simon. 

For the details of the other awards presented at SSIFF - the New Directors Award, the Horizontes Award, the Audience Award and the others, together with the news, views and reviews from this years 69th festival, you can go to the official website at : https://www.sansebastianfestival.com

With Greater Sydney, where I live, still in COVID lockdown for another couple of weeks ending, all being well come mid-October, this means all of our cinema's are closed until this date, which further means that the release of the movies as given below, slated for release this week, will be delayed somewhat across certain parts of Australia at least. That said, these movies will either have been released or are set for an imminent release somewhere in the world, and as Odeon Online has an international audience, I thought it best to carry on regardless. 

This week then there are four new films to tempt you out to your local Odeon, hailing from Australia, Germany, France and Ireland, kicking off with an Australian feature about the events leading up to the April 1996 Port Arthur massacre in Tasmania in an attempt to understand why and how the atrocity occurred. Next up is a German Swiss Sci-Fi set in the distant future, where a female astronaut, shipwrecked on the long-decimated Earth, must decide the fate of the wasteland's remaining population. This is followed by a French drama that sees a young woman leaving her Swiss homeland for Lebanon in the 1950's, where the best years of her life are overshadowed by a pending war. And closing out the week is a doco from Ireland on how a young black boy from working class 1950's Dublin, became Ireland's Greatest Rock Star and as the front man of Thin Lizzy, he was a songwriter, a poet, a dreamer, and a wildman.

Whatever your taste in big screen film entertainment is this week - be it any of the four latest release new movies as Previewed below, or those doing the rounds currently on general release or as Reviewed and Previewed in previous Blog Posts here at Odeon Online, you are most welcome to share your movie going thoughts, opinions and observations by leaving your relevant, succinct and appropriate views in the Comments section below this or any other Post. We'd love to hear from you, and in the meantime, enjoy your big screen Odeon outing during the week ahead.

'NITRAM' (Rated MA15+) - is an Australian psychological drama film Directed and Justin Kurzel, whose previous feature film outings take in his acclaimed debut with 'Snowtown' in 2011, 'Macbeth' in 2015 with Michael Fassbender, 'Assassin's Creed' in 2016 with Michael Fassbender again, and the 'True History of the Kelly Gang' in 2019 with George MacKay. This film had its World Premier screening at the Cannes Film Festival in mid-July this year where lead Actor Caleb Landry Jones took out the Best Actor Award for his performance. It was subsequently screened at the Melbourne International Film Festival in mid-August and at CinefestOZ in Western Australia in late August where it took out the Film Prize of AU$100K - the richest film prize in Australia. 'Nitram' has garnered generally favourable Critical Reviews. 

Nitram (spelled backwards of the real life figure's name Martin Bryant as played here by Caleb Landry Jones) lives with his mother (Judy Davis) and father (Anthony LaPaglia) in suburban Australia in the mid-1990's. He lives a life of isolation and frustration at never being able to fit in. That is until he unexpectedly finds a close friend in a reclusive heiress, Helen (Essie Davis). However, when that relationship meets a tragic end, and Nitram's loneliness and anger grows, he begins a slow descent that culminates in the Port Arthur massacre in Tasmania on 28th and 29th April 1996 in which Bryant shot and killed 35 people and wounded another 23. This is the story of the events leading up to that fateful day. 

'THE COLONY' (aka 'TIDES' Rated MA15+) - is an English language German Swiss Co-Produced Sci-Fi thriller Directed and Co-Written by Tim Fehlbaum in only his third feature film offering following 'Not My Wedding' in 2004 and 'Apocalypse' in 2011. The film saw its World Premier screening at this years Berlin International Film Festival in March, has so far picked up four award wins and another eight nominations from around the awards and festivals circuit, and has generated mixed or average Reviews. In the not too-distant future and following a global catastrophe that has wiped out almost all human life on Earth, Blake (Nora Arnezeder), an elite astronaut from Space Colony Kepler must make a decision that will seal the fate of the people on both planets. Also starring Iain Glen, Sarah-Sofie Boussnina, Joel Basman and Sabastian Roche. 

'SKIES OF LEBANON' (Rated PG) - this French drama film is Directed and Co-Written by Chloe Mazlo in her feature film making debut following ten years of making six short films. Chosen to be selected for the International Critics Week at the Cannes Film Festival in 2020, the film was released in France at the end of June this year, and now gets a limited showing in Australia. Set in the 1950's and combining live action and animation, Alice (Alba Rohrwacher) a young woman decides to leave her native and tranquil Swiss mountain home for the sunny and buzzing shores of Beirut, where she meets and falls in love with with an astrophysicist Joseph (Wajdi Mouawad) intent on sending then first Lebanese national into space. As Alice builds a new life, fits in well with her new family and friends and starts a family, conflicts in the region begin to turn her previously blissful existence upside down. Ultimately, the couple are faced with a crucial question, should they stay in the country they love or leave? 

'PHIL LYNOTT : SONGS FOR WHILE I'M AWAY' (Rated M) - is an Irish documentary film Directed by Emer Reynolds following her three other documentary films 'Three Men Go to War' in 2012, 'Here Was Cuba' in 2013 and 'The Farthest' in 2017. This film centres on the life and music of Phil Lynott, telling the story of how a young black boy from working class 1950's Dublin became Ireland’s Greatest Rock Star. As lead singer of Thin Lizzy, Phil Lynott was a songwriter, a dreamer, a wild man. Told extensively through the words of Phil himself and focusing on some of his iconic songs, the film gets to the heart of Philip, the father, the husband, the friend, the son, the rock icon, the bard, the dreamer. Featuring interviews with the likes of Adam Clayton, Huey Lewis, Midge Ure and Suzi Quatro, plus Thin Lizzy's former band members. The film has garnered critical acclaim. 

With four new release films this week to tempt you out to your local Odeon, remember to share your movie going thoughts with your other like minded cinephile friends afterwards here at Odeon Online. In the meantime, I'll see you sometime somewhere in the coming week, at your local Odeon, or perhaps not!

-Steve, at Odeon Online-