HOLLYWOOD IN TOTO: September 5 Draws Powerful Distinction Between Good and Evil.

The politics of such a terrorist attack also gum up the situation. Given that the Munich Olympics were happening in Germany just 27 years after the Holocaust, there is a palpable pressure for the German government to show it has reformed.

Officials want to protect the Israeli athletes at all costs, but its police and military are inexperienced and neutered, hiding important details from the public. When the pressure gets too hot, their first response is to shut down the broadcasts.

 

“September 5” certainly isn’t a deep cut against the Fourth Estate. If anything, it’s meant to lionize it. Given its unique perspective, though, and the insane history in play, it captures many of the fascinating tensions that exist within journalism.

ABC’s voyeuristic viewpoint, inexperienced journalists and reliance on press releases from the state mean that it is doomed to misreport important details that can get people killed. They want to make a difference, but their success can only be bittersweet.

Their best efforts make them, at best, documenters of man’s inhumanity.

Not surprisingly, the film’s approach to the underlying issue of Israel vs. Palestine is mostly to sideline it. There isn’t much reflecting on the morality of the conflict.

It’s currently streaming on Paramount+ and highly recommended. Or as I wrote last month: September 5: Chilling Recreation of the First Live TV Broadcast of Terrorism.