Tag: thriller-like

SEPTEMBER 5 – Review

Paramount Pictures’ “SEPTEMBER 5,” the film that unveils the decisive moment that forever changed media coverage and continues to impact live news today, set during the 1972 Munich Summer Olympics. the film that unveils the decisive moment that forever changed media coverage and continues to impact live news today, set during the 1972 Munich Summer Olympics. Courtesy of Paramount

The tragic events at the 1972 Munich Summer Olympics, when Palestinian terrorists attacked Israeli athletes and took some hostage, has been to subject of other movies, including Stephen Spielberg’s MUNICH, but SEPTEMBER 5 tells that story from a unique viewpoint, that of the new media on site to cover that sporting event, and now thrust into a very different role. SEPTEMBER 5 is a taut historic drama specifically takes the perspective of the ABC Sports TV crew that was on-site when the attacks took place. As well as a shocking event that shattered the since of international cooperation and peace that had surrounded the Olympics, the event was a watershed in how TV media cover unfolding, breaking news events like that crisis.

When the terrorists took the Israelis hostage, the ABC TV Sports news team was suddenly thrust into the responsibility of covering a breaking news events, something that had never boon done and which had a profound effect on news reporting going forward.

Actually, Roone Arledge, the head of sports for the TV network, fought for his on-location team to remain in control of the coverage instead of turning it over to news reporters working remotely, as the Olympic village was locked-down by the crisis. The drama has the intensity of a thriller but also looks at both the technical innovations the team created on the spot and the ethics of reporting a crisis when lives were at stake.

Director Tim Fehlbaum co-wrote the script with Moritz Binder based on the real events, focusing on the TV news team as they race to cover the terrorist attack. The suspenseful film unfolds like a nail-biting thriller, as the journalists scramble to keep the world informed of unpredictable events with lives in the balance, and make ethical journalistic decisions, good or bad, on the fly.

Peter Sarsgaard plays ABC Sports executive Roone Arledge, the man in charge, but much of this taut drama focuses on a young Jewish-American producer, Geoff Mason (John Magaro), and his mentor Marvin Bader (Ben Chaplin). As Bader’s protege, Mason is given what is assumed to be an easy first-time assignment, to run the ABC Sports news room in the quiet hours of the night, while most of the TV crew rests up for the Olympics coverage the next day. No one expects much to happen.

Yet, during the night, everything changes, as Arab terrorists gain access to the Olympic village where the Israeli athletes are housed and take them hostage. The TV sports news crew suddenly finds themselves the only TV operation with cameras on-site to cover the breaking news of the hostage crisis.

The film focuses events from the viewpoint of the ABC sports news crew, so we see only what they see and know what they know about evolving events. Those wanting a closer look at what the hostages experienced would get a better view of that with Spielberg’s film.

Roone Arledge fought his bosses at ABC to keep the sports TV crew in place, instead of turning things over to a hard-news crew. The technicians, camera men and the rest of the TV production crew are forced to innovate and adapt to a very different kind of coverage, as events shift, creating solutions on the fly to keep the camera on events and the world informed. Some of what they did to adapt, including early moving camera and live broadcast work with equipment that now looks very primitive, has had a lasting impact on TV news and media, but their actions and choices in how they reported the crisis with hostages also raised questions of journalists ethics and moral judgments too.

Peter Sarsgaard’s Roone Arledge is the voice for aggressive efforts to keep the cameras on the terrorists and evolving events to deliver the news to the world in real-time, while Ben Chaplin’s Marvin Bader represents the voice for ethical restraint and human considerations of what is happening under the camera’s eye.

The true-story based SEPTEMBER 5, which has received critical praise and awards nominations since it’s debut at the Venice and Telluride film festivals, is fast-paced and edge-of-the seat suspenseful, with the cast delivering strong ensemble performances working with a well-crafted script. The film has been singled out for those performances, as well as the editing and script.

John Magaro is excellent as the young producer who is forced to make some difficult decisions and solve knotty technical problems under pressure from unfolding events and conflicting pressures from boss Roone Arledge, played forcefully by Peter Sarsgaard and the emotional human and ethical concerns of his mentor Marvin Bader, well-played by Ben Chaplin. A standout supporting role, Marianne Gebhard, is played by German actress Leonie Benesch, who was so good in THE TEACHER’S LOUNGE, where she played the lead role of the beleaguered teacher. Her character Marianne Gebhard is one of few women in this 1970s news room, and when she is pressed into service in the essential role of translator, she winds up adding a layer of rawer human emotional response to what is happening to the hostages, which Benesch does in a moving performance.

SEPTEMBER 5 is a tense historical drama well-worth seeing for its well-crafted, well-acted and suspense-filled telling of the 1972 Munich Olympics tragedy, and how TV coverage of it changed how breaking news is covered.

SEPTEMBER 5 opens Friday, Jan. 24, at multiple area theaters, with two preview showings at Plaza Frontenac Cinema on Thursday, Jan. 16, which include a post-screening, pre-recorded Q&A with the cast and director.

RATING: 3.5 out of 4 stars

CONCLAVE – Review

Ralph Fiennes stars as Cardinal Lawrence in director Edward Berger’s CONCLAVE, a Focus Features release. Credit: Courtesy of Focus Features. © 2024 All Rights Reserved.

The Pope is dead, and the red-clad Cardinals gather to choose the next leader of the Roman Catholic Church, in a conclave led by the Dean of Cardinals, Thomas Lawrence (Ralph Fiennes). That might not sound too exciting as a film but CONCLAVE is highly entertaining, turning that premise into a tense political thriller, with personal ambitions, clashing factions, twists and secrets, as competing visions for the church’s future and ambitious men vie one of the most powerful positions on Earth.

Part of why this film works as a entertaining thriller is the outstanding cast, which includes Ralph Fiennes, in one of his best performances, plus stars like Stanley Tucci, John Lithgow, and Isabella Rossellini, all in fine form.

Another reason it works so well as nature of the Roman Catholic Church. The cardinals are tasked with a holy mission, to choose the next pope, but the Catholic Church, whose roots reach back through the Middle Ages to Rome, has long had a political aspect when you reach the level of cardinals and the Pope in the Vatican. Extending that into a thriller where ambitions and visions for the future clash, with echoes of any other struggle, whether for leadership of any great organization or even a country, is not a great stretch. There are the parallels with any organization needing to fill a powerful position of leadership, whether religious or secular, even political, with competing factions, ambitious personalities, and a struggle over the direction it will take.

On the other hand, these are men of faith, and the focus is the leadership of a major worldwide religion, which makes religious beliefs a balancing thread. In the film, there are factions in the Church, and they are vying to move it forward or backward in the modern world. The cardinals are deeply divided on that. Then there are personal ambitions too, as rising within the ranks to level of cardinal is no small feat, and aiming to become pope is not an unreasonable dream.

All that gives this drama both deep material to explore and powerful contrasting feelings to drive it forward, along with strong personalities and hidden secrets to help the tensions along.

The excellent Ralph Fiennes is top of his game in CONCLAVE, playing the reluctant Cardinal Lawrence, Dean of Cardinals, who had tried to resign from his position and its responsibilities shortly before the pope’s death, hoping to retreat to a quiet life of contemplation. The pope had refused to accept his resignation, and Lawrence suspected he knew this task was in the offing, and that it would be a battle for the soul of the Church.

Ralph Fiennes’ Cardinal Lawrence, as the Dean of Cardinals, is the reluctant leader of the conclave to pick the new pope. The church at this moment is split deeply into factions, some wanting to modernize and others wanting to return to the past. Some of the cardinals are openly ambitious on a personal level, while others are pressed into it by their vision for the Church’s future.

Stanley Tucci plays a cardinal who fits that latter category, Cardinal Bellini, pressed into service by his friend Lawrence. The pope (Bruno Novelli) who just died was from the church’s more liberal faction and his supporters and friends like Fiennes would like to see his modernizing policies continue. But they face strong opposition from Cardinal Tedesco (Sergio Castellitto) who would like to reinstate the Latin Mass and restore the dominance of Italians in the church leadership, among other things, and is pushing back against the more international approach of the last pope.

Another candidate for pope is Cardinal Adeyemi (Lucian Msamati), who would be the first African pope, but the liberals are troubled by his strong anti-gay stance. There is a fourth candidate, an ambitious man who would be pope, Cardinal Tremblay (John Lithgow). Tremblay is a competing candidate from the liberal wing but one about whom Lawrence has suspicions and who may be concealing something that may disqualify him. Tremblay was the last to see the pope alive and another priest who was present nearby, Wozniak (Jacek Koman) overhead parts of a confrontation with late pope and Lithgow’s Tremblay. Tremblay denies there was even an argument and Wozniak is so upset it is hard to tell what he really heard. There are rumors of a missing document reflecting badly on Tremblay, and Tremblay’s delay in notifying Lawrence, who should have been told immediately about the pope’s death, casts more suspicion.

So the stage is set for intrigue and tension. The cardinals gather to be sequestered to they choose the next pope but rumors and secrets still circulate from inside and out. There is a surprise arrival, of a secret cardinal stationed in Afghanistan, Cardinal Benitez (Carlos Diehz), that no one had known about. except the late pope. Meanwhile, there is unrest in the streets as the cardinals are gathered to do their holy work.

There are nuns present too, led by Isabella Rossellini’s Sister Agnes, who are there to take care of practical matters like cooking and serving food. The nuns stay silent – well, until Rossellini’s Sister Agnes finally does speak up.

The cardinals speak a mix of Italian and English, with surprisingly little Latin. Ralph Fiennes is at the center of this story, trying to uncover the truth about every candidate for pope to determine who is most worthy, and often going down a rabbit hole as he uncovers what has been hidden, but it is very much an ensemble effort and each actor gets to shine. In the end, it is the cardinals themselves who will pick the pope, in round after round of voting during the day. After hours, candidates campaign and jockey for position in quiet conversations in hallways, as Fiennes’ Lawrence investigates.

Rich color and pageantry fill the screen while all this intrigue and clash of ideas and personalities takes place. The Vatican setting has always provided plenty of pomp and gorgeous theatrical visuals for films, which CONCLAVE uses to great dramatic effect to frame it’s taut, twisty plot. Seas of cardinals, in red and white trimmed in gold, move through stately halls of gleaming white or black marble, while nuns in blue move silently among them, and cinematography Stéphane Fontaine gives us one beautiful, striking scene after another, adding a visual delight to the film’s many admirable qualities.

Director Edward Berger, who also helmed last year’s excellent German war drama adaptation of ALL QUIET ON THE WESTERN FRONT, brings that same skill in storytelling and drawing fine performances from actors to this film as well. The screenplay is by Peter Straughan, adapted from the book by Robert Harris. From the acting to the cinematography by Stéphane Fontaine and art direction by Suzie Davies and Lisy Christi, CONCLAVE is first-rate at every level, and seems a sure thing for Oscar nominations, as it deserves..

CONCLAVE builds tension as secrets come out and positions shift, with Ralph Fiennes character acting almost as a detective to uncover the truth of every candidate for Pope. The film ends with a shocker but no spoilers from here. You will have to go see it to find out, and you will not be sorry you did, as CONCLAVE is one of the year’s best, with Oscar potential on multiple levels.

CONCLAVE opens Friday, Oct. 25, in theaters.

RATING: 4 out of 4 stars

THE TEACHERS LOUNGE – Review

Leonie Benesch as teacher Carla Nowak, in THE TEACHERS LOUNGE. Courtesy of Sony Pictures Classics

There is something going on in the teachers’ lounge, which goes way beyond school walls, in the thriller-like German drama THE TEACHERS LOUNGE. With high tensions and a dark comedy undercurrent, THE TEACHERS LOUNGE is about more than the classroom, as the best of intentions gone horribly wrong. The powerful, jarring drama is also an Oscar nominee for Best International Film.

The story takes place in a middle school, where a series of thefts has the staff on edge but the drama is really a parable about modern society at large. THE TEACHERS also flips the expectations of movies about teachers, where the idealistic teacher breaks through the strictures of the school to triumph and change students’ lives.

In the teachers’ lounge of this nice but ordinary German middle school, the gossip is flying, particularly about the series of thefts taking place at the school. Idealistic young math and gym teacher Carla Nowak (Leonie Benesch) tries to avoid the gossip, and focus on her work with her beloved students. The chatter reveals that the teacher’s suspicions now are falling on students for the thefts.

In early classroom scenes, we learn Carla is a good teacher, caring and in control of her classroom. When students who did well on a test ask her to post the ranking of test scores on the chalkboard, she cleverly asks them questions to show them the downside of such public comparisons. Her warmth with the students and her idealism make her admirable, but set the stage for what is to come.

While Carla tries to steer clear of the other teachers’ speculations about the thefts, she is unwillingly drawn into the situation when she is called into a room by another teacher. There she finds the school’s principal (Anne-Kathrin Gummich) and some teachers pressuring two students to report on their classmates about who they think might be the thief. Alarm bells go off for us, and for Carla too, but despite her interjections letting students know their cooperation is voluntary, the principal and other teachers undermine that, first giving lip-service to those rights, and then pressing the students again. Uncomfortable, the kids assure the adults they don’t know anything but eventually, they point to a boy – who is the son of Turkish immigrants. Since the student said they don’t know, they likely just picked a student who is not well-liked. That it is an immigrant student is unsettling. Carla, as uncomfortable as she is with this situation, is now a part of it.

As an immigrant from Poland herself, Carla is aware of an undercurrent of discrimination and being labeled “other” herself, and sympathizes with the Turkish student. Hoping to prove Ali is innocent, Carla then makes her first mistake. She sets a trap for the real theft in the teachers lounge, counting the cash in her wallet and then leaving it in her jacket pocket, but with her computer camera on and pointed at the pocket. Then she leaves it unattended in the teachers lounge. When she returns to check the wallet, some money is missing. When she checks the camera footage, it does indeed clear Ali but what it reveals creates a whole new problem.

Carla is indeed idealistic and well-meaning, but she is also naive. She makes assumptions and mistakes With the best intentions, she did something she shouldn’t have, secretly filming the people in the teachers lounge,. Hoping to set things right, she keeps making mistakes which make the situation worse, and everything she does to correct that, makes it even worse. We’ve all had that day, that week, that month, where best intentions blow up and no matter what we do, things get worse. Everything Carla does just digs the hole deeper.

The story is told from her point-of-view, which means we don’t always know what goes on out of her sight. While early scenes showed us Carla is a good teacher, but as things outside the classroom spin out of control, so does her control of her classroom. Carla has a moral certainty but everything in the story is ambiguous. Carla identifies the real thief not because she see a face but by a distinctive patterned blouse. It is never established that she is the only one wearing that blouse that day, nor is it clearly established that Ali or another student is innocent. Instead, accusations and suspicions fly, with little proof of anything. Everything is ambiguous, but what is clear is that someone who was not a fault, Carla’s most promising student, Oskar (Leo Stettnisch), ends up paying the highest price,

The direction by İlker Çatak, who co-wrote the screenplay with Johannes Duncker, is as taut as the drama is tense. The acting, the tightly-controlled choice to shots, and the precision editing, gives us a sense of fear and dread that builds as things spin out of control.

The school says all the right things about diversity and treating students with respect but in practice it asserts control, making it clear that no matter what they say, the administration and the school structure that are in charge. What starts out as a private matter spreads throughout the school, and truly explodes with the student newspaper gets involved.

Director Ilker Çatak builds suspense and tension skillfully as the the situation’s complications grow and Carla starts to buckle under the pressure. Leonie Benesch is outstanding as the young, idealistic math and gym teacher Carla Nowak. Carla holds herself apart from the other teachers with her ethics but those same ideals make her inflexible and unable to see the fuller picture. Her idealism leads her to actions that are well-intentioned but not well-thought out, which do not accomplish what she hopes.

Director Çatak often focuses on Benesch’s expressive face, with her large, innocent eyes, as Carla’s confidence in her ability to put things right crumbles. As someone who has also been labeled “other,” she projects feelings into situations without truly understanding the facts. As things do not go as she hopes, her frustrations heighten and her confidence erodes.

Another acting stand out is Leo Stettnisch as her student Oskar, a shy but bright student. Oskar is torn between his fondness for the teacher who seems to recognize his potential, and his loyal devotion to his mother. Anne-Kathrin Gummich, as the principal, is a skilled player at school politics, turning everything to put herself and the school in the best light, and deflecting blame away from the administration, even if that means throwing Carla under the bus. Carla never seems to blame anyone for their self-serving behavior, even the person seemingly caught on camera, who responds to the accusation with over-the-top rage and a vengeful attitude that does not consider her son’s best interests.

Eventually, Carla becomes the object of accusations, not of the thefts but of being a bad teacher. Her control of her classroom degrades as the scandal spreads. We see early on that she truly cares for her students, that she is a good teacher, but her ethics and her idealism make her rigid in a way, and she wraps herself in a prim superiority to the compromising, more cynical staff around her. That inflexibility, that inability to engage with the realpolitik of the situation, contributes to disaster in the end. The ending is ambiguous too, except in one respect, that it is the innocent who will pay the price for this mess they did not make.

If you are looking for an inspiring teacher story who triumphs over the system, THE TEACHERS LOUNGE is not that. But it is a brilliantly-acted, beautifully-constructed, drama that is less about teaching or German schools, and more a symbolic commentary on a larger modern social system, one that is broken and cynical, that the wraps its prejudices in a cloak of tolerance and sensitivity, a cloak that often only really serves to cover one’s own posterior.

THE TEACHERS LOUNGE, in German, Polish, and Turkish with English subtitles, opens Friday, Feb. 9, in theaters.

RATING: 3.5 out of 4 stars