It’s been an odd release for Tim Fehlbaum’s nifty, condensed 1970s historical thriller September 5. Screening first at Venice back in August, few voices were singing this film’s praises, mostly because it seemed like few saw it at all. Picked up by Paramount Pictures as a possible awards contender, it seemed to be an afterthought amongst most film pundits and journalists. It wasn’t until Scott Feinberg at The Hollywood Reporter listed it as his number 1 predicted Best Picture nominee for this year’s Academy Awards. Eyes shifted immediately, with many confused as to how and why, given the film was so under the radar, many didn’t even know it existed. As word began to spread about how effective the film screened, with a high Rotten Tomatoes critics score and a terrific ensemble cast, backlash was not far behind. While the events portrayed in September 5 are harrowing and tragic, its timing in today’s political landscape couldn’t have been more ill for those skeptical.

Criticism over how the film chooses to side with the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, which escalated on October 7, 2023, was been interpreted in many ways. Many pro-Palestinian commenters believe the film villainizes the country for the actions of the group that held hostage nine members of the Israeli Olympic team during the 1972 Summer Olympics in West Germany, and that releasing during a climate where innocent Palestinian people are facing ongoing genocide by the Israeli government. Some argue the film may have been made as a response to the 2023 hostage crisis led by Hamas though feel as though the film is too afraid to take a proper stance on the issue, choosing to focus purely on the response of the ABC sports broadcasting team covering the 1972 events.

While in most cases, this amount of discussing the reaction’s to the films existence would be irrelevant, but September 5 feels unfortunately too weighed down by the current landscape to escape these debates. Scenes early on depict members of the studio going back and forth about what word would be best in naming the attackers, trying to please the network, the crew, and the world watching, without offense. At first, “Arabs” is the common term before broadcast, until a crew-member, Jacques Legards (played by Zinedine Soualem) reminds them that is mother is Arab, and in the end, the team quickly agrees on “terrorists”.

The film is doing everything it can to play out as realistic as possible, keeping the focus the real-time events of the live broadcast to limiting extreme character responses that would get exaggerated in more Hollywood-esque portrayals. The production design is intentionally messy, aiding the musky, handheld cinematography in reminding you that this was the 1970s and workplaces were casually dirty and unorganized. Did these characters have ethical debates about the conflict while aiding the camera crew in West Germany? Possibly. Were there any dissenting opinions on the negative portrayal of Palestinians? Likely not. As Peter Sarsgaard as ABC Sports President Roone Alredge instructs his team, the only thing they need to focus on is saving the lives of the hostages. Nothing else matters.

That’s as far as the film goes to make a point. Any more nuanced discussion is far better off explored in Steven Spielberg’s Munich (2005), which covers a far more interesting story on the same events with real moral and ethical conversations. September 5 chooses instead to be a film about the importance of broadcast journalism and how Achille’s Heel can strike even the most noble of professionals. We know how this story ends, we know where the film is going, and the failure of the news team adds heavy sorrow to the narrative as the credits roll, but it never feels like the film strives for more than that.

At a brisk 90-ish minutes, Feldbaum is focused purely on the sweat and chaos of the control room, led by the ever-reliable and earnest John Magaro as Geoffrey Mason. For that, September 5 works as a tense thriller. The editing, while excessive, does work as a perhaps-intentional nod to television journalism in that there is so much coverage of everything, from coffee cups to control boards to phone calls. It is a thrilling exercise in keeping an audience hooked to the action, even when they may know the outcome.

The ensemble cast does a miracle job keeping the situation grounded and focused. Leonie Benesch (of 2023’s The Teacher’s Lounge) has to communicate so much with tense eyes. Ben Chaplin as Marvin Bader may be the ultimate standout, commanding the office with stoic ferocity every scene he’s in. Because of the premise and the runtime, character development is almost non-existent and the actors have to simply rely on quick reactions to define who they are in the room. By keeping this story contained to the control room, which is a noble pitch, we do lack the more interesting perspective of the camera crew and employees that have to actually be on the scene.

By regular standards, September 5 is a good excerise and a successful, entertaining thriller that only fails in not saying enough or making enough of a point. It’s stripped down, simplistic, and effective… but perhaps only in the moment of watching it. It’s missing something, something that should linger as the credits roll, that’s only describable through constructive discussion afterwards. Perhaps if you want real discussion, Munich is just the way to go instead.