At the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich, in the offices of the ABC Sports crew, president Roone Arledge (Peter Sarsgaard) tells the head of operations Marvin Bader (Ben Chaplin) and head of control room Geoffrey Mason (John Magaro) of the importance of emphasising emotions over politics to make an effective broadcast. Suddenly, gunshots are heard in the distance, and soon the crew’s local translator, Marianne (Leonie Benesch) informs the group of a potential terrorist attack in the Olympic Village against the Israeli team.

Based on real events, the movie is told from the relatively confined perspective of the ABC Sports crew in their studio. Quickly realising that a historical event is happening within a close distance, the crew gets to work to cover the events in line with their obligations to their studio, their audience, the hostages and their profession. While characters discuss the moral quandaries that appear along the way, the movie does not take obvious, on-the-nose stances, rather letting the characters face the consequences of their quickly considered decisions along the way and redirecting where possible.

The set is incredibly authentic, hosting a dogged group of broadcast production professionals pushing the analogue technology at hand to its limits in a world-first situation: covering a live terrorist event. The movie’s use of actual archival footage from the coverage further blurs the lines of reality.

Verdict: A lean, measured and realistic look behind the curtain of the broadcast of a horrific event that many around the world followed at home in the early 70s. 4 stars.

Luke McWilliams. themovieclub.net. Viewed at Dendy Cinemas.