One Day in September Review

When was the last time you went to the cinema to see a documentary? Hmm, thought so. Reckon you can get that sort of thing at home on TV then. Well, prepare to have your preconceptions shaken up a bit, because this particular documentary on the murder of the Israeli athletes at the 1972 Munich Olympics is so sharply put together, its more tense than a lot of Hollywood thrillers. Don't be fooled by the cheesy tourist-board promo film which opens the proceedings with some easy laughs, before long we're right in the thick of things as Palestinian terrorists take their hostages in the Israeli section of the Olympic village. With the eyes of the world's media watching and waiting, the event that the German authorities were hoping would be a showcase to excise the memory of Hitler's 1936 Berlin Olympiad becomes white-hot news for all the wrong reasons.

With a measured narration by Michael Douglas filling in the information gaps between interviewees and compelling TV news footage, what builds up is a picture of dedicated, ruthless, well-organised Palestinian agents determined to bring their cause to the world stage, and the absolute unpreparedness of the Munich organisers to deal with such a threat. See this and the myth of German efficiency will be punctured forever, since the bungling of the security forces is so tragic it almost transcends belief. Your stomach just gets tighter as we see the awful events unfold and witness the undimmed grief of the victims' families. Most astonishingly, we also get to hear from the defiant last remaining member of the Palestinian crew. The Israeli secret service have since wiped out all his comrades, but the film-makers still managed to track him down. With a scoop like that, no wonder Scots director Kevin MacDonald (whose brother produced "Trainspotting" and "The Beach" picked up this year's Oscar for Best Documentary.