We all now what happened by now on that dreadful date. We've seen it over and over again. That's the difference between the United States and most of the rest of the world. The States got live coverage of what happens. So we all got to see the plane crashes in New York a year ago, and that's what made it even tougher to swallow: we were confronted by it, in the face terrorism, no denying it. Not far away in some obscure Yugoslavian, Asian or African country, but in what some people believe is the capital of the Western world. Well, you can't deny the cruelness of these acts, you can't think of a simple word of sympathy for the deeds of these men, that's for sure. Once more religion has proved to be just a means to an end in some people's hands. But as I said: we all now that by now, and the world remembered this day today.
The IMDB asks me to give a score for this documentary by the French brothers Naudet. Well, I can't give a score on content, since these men merely registered what happened. Their amazing experience as witnesses to this day, amidst of all, is remarkable and so is the fact that they went there and came back to put it all on film. But that too, I can't judge, on a film score basis. What's left is the putting together of the images, the editing and the narration. And that is, well, pretty ordinary. For instance, the tone at the beginning of the documentary is all wrong. We get to hear a voice-over talk the same way as it's done for trailers for big Hollywood blockbusters and Robert de Niro narrates as if he were presenting a show. At a certain moment I even felt as if I was watching something that they better not had shown. I saw the images, and yeah, they still had an impact, how could they not? But it wasn't the same as when you were watching this a year ago. No, it felt like a neatly put-together documentary about the attacks on September 11th. And it didn't feel as real as it should've been by far.
Why the terrible voice-over, why the narration by Robert De Niro, why telling what happened all over again...why not simply show the images and let us think about em, let us admire the braveness and understand the fears of those firemen and all the other people involved? Why shove it down our throat as if we couldn't understand what happened any other way? What DID we actually learn from watching this film? Something we didn't know yet?
Well, the only thing I can say is that I hope there won't be a film about this too, because I'm pretty sure what the tone of such a movie will be. And yeah,it would be a big blockbuster too. And yeah, producers will say that the object is not to make money but to remember, as they did with this documentary. But the claws of Hollywood are already firmly put around this film, don't let this happen again. And that goes for everything concerning the film. As a documentary: 6/10, tops. As an account of that day: uncomparable and timeless. Just remember that there's more to it than is shown. I hope children will learn that for years to come.
The IMDB asks me to give a score for this documentary by the French brothers Naudet. Well, I can't give a score on content, since these men merely registered what happened. Their amazing experience as witnesses to this day, amidst of all, is remarkable and so is the fact that they went there and came back to put it all on film. But that too, I can't judge, on a film score basis. What's left is the putting together of the images, the editing and the narration. And that is, well, pretty ordinary. For instance, the tone at the beginning of the documentary is all wrong. We get to hear a voice-over talk the same way as it's done for trailers for big Hollywood blockbusters and Robert de Niro narrates as if he were presenting a show. At a certain moment I even felt as if I was watching something that they better not had shown. I saw the images, and yeah, they still had an impact, how could they not? But it wasn't the same as when you were watching this a year ago. No, it felt like a neatly put-together documentary about the attacks on September 11th. And it didn't feel as real as it should've been by far.
Why the terrible voice-over, why the narration by Robert De Niro, why telling what happened all over again...why not simply show the images and let us think about em, let us admire the braveness and understand the fears of those firemen and all the other people involved? Why shove it down our throat as if we couldn't understand what happened any other way? What DID we actually learn from watching this film? Something we didn't know yet?
Well, the only thing I can say is that I hope there won't be a film about this too, because I'm pretty sure what the tone of such a movie will be. And yeah,it would be a big blockbuster too. And yeah, producers will say that the object is not to make money but to remember, as they did with this documentary. But the claws of Hollywood are already firmly put around this film, don't let this happen again. And that goes for everything concerning the film. As a documentary: 6/10, tops. As an account of that day: uncomparable and timeless. Just remember that there's more to it than is shown. I hope children will learn that for years to come.