German writer-director Tim Fehlbaum’s taut and nail-biting thriller, September 5, is set entirely in a makeshift TV newsroom in Munich in 1972 as the horrific events of the Israeli hostage massacre at the Olympic Games come to light. The claustrophobic set is chock full of men in power making quick, sometimes-rash, often-measured decisions. Amidst the testosterone is Marianne, a reserved German translator usually only called upon when her expertise is necessary, but she becomes crucial to understanding the unfolding events and the realization of just how significant the news story becomes.
Marianne is played with grace, dignity and justified frustration, by the gifted Leonie Benesch. It’s the kind of non-showy, grounded performance that is often overlooked at awards season, but so deserves consideration because the character is so vital to the story and Benesch’s work is, ultimately, so intense and moving.
Benesch’s breakthrough film role was Eva in Michael Haneke’s internationally acclaimed Oscar-nominated film, The White Ribbon in 2009. She co-starred in Vadim Perelman’s Persian Lessons, Belarus’s 2020 International Feature Oscar entry (although the film was disqualified) and then starred in last year’s beloved International Feature Oscar submission from Germany, The Teacher’s Lounge, which went on to receive a nomination in that category.
On TV/Streaming she is best known for her 3-season turn as Greta Overbeck, in Tom Tykwer’s Weimar-set epic series, Babylon Berlin (2017-2020). She also played Princess Cecilie on the Netflix series The Crown in 2017 and 2019. Other TV credits include major roles in the International series’ Spy City, Around the World in 80 Days and The Swarm.
She will soon be seen in as a dedicated nurse in Petra Biondina Volpe’s feature film, Heldin and the TV series Moresnet, currently being broadcast in Belgium.
September 5 is one of the finest films of 2024. Read my review here.
The Contending had the pleasure of a zoom chat with Benesch.
