User Reviews

This video documentary was written and produced by a devout Scientologist and functions as a promotional film for the Church of Scientology. Supposedly a tribute to the volunteers who helped out in the aftermath of 9/11, it serves to promote the efforts of Scientology's Volunteer Ministers who dominate the second half of the film.

It takes 49 minutes of buildup before the movie introduces a brief segment on the faith based efforts of the Salvation Army then quickly segues to the other "faith based" group from Scientology.

This juxtaposition is purposeful and gets repeated later in the film when a Christian minister gets inter cut with a Scientologist volunteer minister who proclaims "we all share the same beliefs." I'm certain the Christian minister doesn't buy into L. Ron Hubbard's belief that Christ was an alien implant.

The film also gives a lengthy plug to Scientology's detoxification program created, as the film explains, by noted author and humanitarian, L. Ron Hubbard. The Detox has never been found medically sound, is widely recognized as quackery and known to use dangerous levels of liver damaging niacin.

In effect, the movie attempts to safe-point Scientology, which in their terms means to make the group acceptable to mainstream society. Not surprisingly, no mention is made of the scandal which erupted after 9/11 when Scientology sent out anonymous press releases offering mental health assistance to victims of the tragedy and routing people straight to Scientology. They were widely condemned for this fraudulent action.

There have been many moving tributes to those who have lost their lives on 9/11. This film is a little more than a recruiting tool for a group many consider to be a dangerous cult.

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Had there been more than one family in the audience (whom I'm wagering got in free since the theater was admitting firefighters, police, military and other rescue personnel and their families for free) I would have refrained from my audible "boos" every time Scientology or humanitarian L. Ron Hubbard were praised in the film. The end credits saw lots of Scientologists being thanked including Golden Era and John Carmichael.

I give it 1 and 1/2 stars ranking it just above "The Profit" and "Battlefield Earth."