SEPTEMBER 5 (dir. Tim Fehlbaum)

There are few things on this planet more entertaining than a “people at work” movie, and in this case, the people at work are the ABC sports broadcasting team during the Munich Olympics. It’s not a regular day at the office, however. When the Israeli Olympic team is taken hostage by terrorists, the broadcasters must pivot from athletic coverage to crisis journalism without missing a beat or negatively affecting the situation.
September 5 features an expansive ensemble cast including Peter Sarsgaard, Leonie Benesch, Ben Chaplin, and a movie-stealing John Magaro, all of whom have a small part in keeping the broadcast, and in turn, the hostages, alive. Fehlbaum channels Altman in merging a multitude of intertwining plot threads into a cohesive whole, keeping things taut, even though we all know how the situation ultimately resolves. It’s a delight to watch the analog processes of 1972-era broadcasting put into action while the humans navigate limited resources, journalistic ethics, and the challenge of honoring a competing network’s time-slot without losing exclusive boots-on-the-ground coverage of a world-changing event.
An airtight edit makes kinetic what could easily have been a simple chamber piece. Notes of humor throughout maintain the verisimilitude of the dynamic between coworkers, keeping the focus on the story mechanics rather than the present day events which could threaten to negatively flavor the film. Theres no attempt to make a statement about the larger Israeli/Palestine conflict, and the film is stronger for it — this is about one small facet of a historical event. That said, there are plenty of thematic threads to pull on. In one scene Marianne (Benesch) is sent for coffee by a male coworker. She gives consideration to the demeaning nature of the request — she is not of an inferior rank to anyone else in the room — before prioritizing the bigger picture over personal grievance. She exits the room and then the men realize that they just sent away the one person who can translate German. Misogyny oopsie!!
Armand (dir. Halfdan Ullman Tøndel)

My decision to never have children has been validated by so many movies, the latest being Armand, a single-location drama about a mediation session between a teacher, a couple, and a widow. The widow’s son may or may not have attacked the couples’ son, and the day has been set aside to figure out just what to do about it. What could be a simple discussion soon gets nasty on account of clashing allegiances. The school has a duty to protect its students, but must first protect itself. The parents have a duty to advocate for their children, but must also be willing to accept that their little angels might not be so angelic.
Tøndel’s script masterfully keeps its cards close to the proverbial chest, allowing a slow drip of information about the mysterious central conflict. We learn about connections between the adults, both explicit and implicit, which complicate the relatively simple initial dispute. It’s “it takes a village” writ large and weaponized.
Surreal touches bolster the film’s emotional framework. Symbolism is employed via imagined artistic dance sequences (no, it’s not a musical), while a handful of pointed environmental details (an unstoppable nosebleed, a twitchy fire alarm, a quad that offers little by way of rain coverage) drive home the film’s themes. Namely those of familial loyalty, scholastic responsibility, and what happens when the ends no longer justify the means. Is it better to ring the bell with a hair-trigger, lest we let unsavory behavior go unpunished, or did The Boy Who Cried Wolf have it right all along?
There are no firm answers in Armand, and that’s by design. Each party in this conflict has the right intentions, and all have the same overall goal, but there’s little accounting for ego, blind familial allegiance, and the nuts and bolts of running a school. The characters are well-motivated to a degree that makes them impossible to blame (although not impossible to judge). Renate Reinsve and Ellen Dorrit Petersen enter a tense battle for the ages between two mama bears, but it’s Thea Lambrechts Vaulen who steals that film as the sweet-natured teacher with the thannkless task of resolving an impossible situation with dignity and moral/ethical certitude, while also working to appease multiple conflicting masters.