One Day in September (1999)

Director:

Kevin Macdonald

Release Date:

24 August 2000 (Australia)

Genre:

Documentary

Plot:

The Palestinian terrorist group Black September holds Israeli athletes hostage at the 1972 Summer Olympic Games in Munich.

Plot Keywords:

Olympics | Palestinian | Hostage | Munich Olympics | Munich Germany

Awards:

Won Oscar. Another 3 wins & 5 nominations

Cast

  (Cast overview, first billed only)

Michael Douglas	...	Himself / Narrator (voice)
Ankie Spitzer	...	Herself
Jamal Al Gashey	...	Himself
Gerald Seymour	...	Himself
Axel Springer	...	Himself
Gad Zahari	...	Himself
Shmuel Lalkin	...	Himself
Manfred Schreiber	...	Himself
Walter Troger	...	Himself
Ulrich K. Wegener	...	Himself
Hans-Dietrich Genscher	...	Himself
Schlomit Romajo	...	Herself
Magdi Gahary	...	Himself
Zvi Zamir	...	Himself
Dan Shillon	...	Himself

Also Known As:

Ein Tag im September (Germany)

MPAA:

Rated R for some graphic violent images

Runtime:

94 min

Country:

Switzerland | Germany | UK

Language:

English | German

Color:

Black and White | Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Certification:

Singapore:PG | Iceland:12 | Netherlands:16 | Australia:MA | Germany:12 | UK:15 | USA:R

Company:

Passion Pictures

Quotes:

Jim McKay: When I was a kid my father used to say our greatest hopes and our worst fears are seldom realized. Our worst fears have been realized tonight. They have now said there were eleven hostages; two were killed in their rooms yesterday morning, nine were killed at the airport tonight. They're all gone.

Movie Connections:

Featured in The 50 Greatest Documentaries (2005) (TV)

Soundtrack:

Facades

Don't watch this just before bedtime!

Watching this documentary is a harrowing experience. I think the DVD version is unique in that even its menu page looks terrifying. By the end of the film, however, I was more angry than scared, because of the amazing level of incompetence German and Olympic officials showed in handling the hostage situation. The media also behaved abominably, broadcasting play-by-play accounts of the police's plans right into the ears of the terrorists. It made me think that the Bush administration might be partially correct in keeping the media in the dark about American military activities in Afghanistan.

I don't understand why some people felt the film didn't give the "context" of the kidnapping. I think Jamal al Gashey, the only kidnapper left alive now, explained quite clearly why he did what he did. But if the film had spent an extra hour discussing the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, would that have made a difference? In my mind, nothing justified the kidnapping of athletes who by their very presence at the Olympics were trying to further world understanding. I can't think of many things that do justify holding innocent hostages for ransom. The director seems to feel that way too. Apparently that makes the movie too biased for some viewers.

As for the comment that the movie "demonizes" the kidnappers, I don't agree. The filmmakers include a German official's statement that, if he had met him in a different situation, he would have liked the terrorist spokesman, Issa. al Gashey tells some very human stories, such as an ironic account of getting into the Olympic village with the help of American athletes out after curfew, and he insists that the plan was never to murder the Israelis. And al Gashey's brief but affecting account of being exiled from his childhood village does a lot more to argue the Palestinian side of the conflict than any brutal hostage-taking scheme. Too bad he never has realized that.

Interestingly, filmmaker Kevin MacDonald wrote that in Israel he has been accused of giving too much time to the Palestinians. He also notes that Simon Reeve wrote a companion book to the movie, because "there were many aspects of the story we could not include in a 90-minute film." It's a pity the existence of the book isn't publicized more (assuming it's any good).

I do wish the film had spent more time discussing the aftermath of the tragedy, and that MacDonald had used his incredible opportunity of interviewing the last remaining terrorist to ask him some more hard-hitting questions, instead of being satisfied with a step-by-step account of what the kidnappers did that day. (However, I just read that it was extremely difficult for MacDonald to get al Gashey to talk at all.

I wasn't completely convinced that the Germans colluded with the terrorists in the Lufthansa hijacking, and would have liked to see evidence for that. I would also have liked to learn more about the Black September group. Basically, I think the film should have been longer. If it was kept to its current length for some marketing reason, I think the sponsoring studio should rethink that rule.

However, the only choice I really wish the filmmaker had not made was to accompany extremely gruesome shots of bodies with loud psychedelic music. It would have been more respectful to show the images in silence.

Watching the film in light of the events of a day in September of 2001, and after, makes me think that the world hasn't come very far since 1972, in terms of solving the Middle East's problems.