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April 30, 2006
United 93
Brian and I saw United 93 last night. I should start by noting that it seems odd to file this under the "Movies" category, even though it is about the movie United 93. United 93 is really more of a reconstruction, or dramatization without added drama, than it is like a typical movie, or even a documentary.
The movie contains neither political commentary, nor much in the way of film gimmicks to heighten the drama and emotion, nor even context. It is basically a reconstruction of the events on United 93 on September 11, from the points of view of the terrorists, the passengers, the air traffic controllers, and the military command post charged with air defense of the North American continent. Everything is shown without extrinsic context — this film is in no way a propaganda picture — or comment. There are a few things that were done that were purely conjectural, and which could be described as "film gimmicks to heighten the drama and emotion", but they are both subtle and effective, rather than being a slap in the face.
The terrorists are shown as 2 brutal and remorseless killers, one brutal and very nervous killer, and one (the pilot, Ziad Jarrah) is shown as being hesitant and somewhat more attached to life than the other terrorists, though also committed to the raid as they were. This humanization of the terrorists is certainly conjectural, but it is a good conjecture: we have no need of demons or monsters; we are quite capable of filling those roles ourselves. Another excellent touch was used during the time the passengers were planning how to regain control of the aircraft. As the passengers and crew who would make the counterattack are gathering anything they can use as weapons — forks, hot water, fire extinguishers — the terrorists in the cockpit are praying in Arabic and some of the passengers who would not be taking part are reciting the Lord's Prayer. It was incredibly effective. The one conjectural bit that the film does that I was not happy with was the role of the Scandinavian passenger, who not only argued against the counterattack, but also tried to warn the hijackers and was wrestled down by the other passengers. I felt that this was not only stereotypical and unlikely, but also unnecessary; the extra drama was certainly not needed, and it's pointless to sully the reputation of a person, even anonymously, who may very well have behaved with utter heroism; there is simply no way to know.
The movie is excellent, and I recommend that everyone see it (something I frankly do not often do, even with movies I like). Stephanie and our friend Jen have both told me that "it's too soon" for such a movie, and I've heard those comments on NPR and other places as well. I disagree. Actually, I would agree with the sentiment if the movie was an Oliver Stone take, or a Michael Moore take, but as it was done, the movie serves to do something very critical: help us to remember what we felt that day.
The steady drip characteristic of news in this long, unusual war is numbing. There's a bombing in Baghdad, a kidnapping in southern Afghanistan, a gunman in the Philippines — every day another minor atrocity, and some days another major atrocity, reported with an attitude best described in the Don Henley song Dirty Laundry: "She can tell you 'bout the plane crash with a gleam in her eye. It's interesting when people die." And that kind of coverage makes us forget, makes us numb, makes us unfeeling and complacent. But this is not over yet, and it's not going to be over soon. This is a war that will utterly destroy either our culture or the part of Arab culture that spawns totalitarianism and expansionism and terrorism; it may well be a war that will alter both cultures beyond recognition. But there will be no let up and no quarter until one or the other side is utterly changed or destroyed. And because of the Arab way of war, there will be no fronts, nor any quarter given; the attacks will come at the time and place of the jihadis' choosing, unless we continue to disrupt them by fighting the jihadis in their homeland instead of ours. And it is the forgetfulness, the numbness, the complacency that makes us likely to turn away from fighting the enemy in their homeland. And then there will be another atrocity, here, with many many dead civilians who just went to work, or took a flight.
So no, it's not too soon. This kind of movie needs to be done now, and every few years, to keep us awake. If the media would actually replay the events of the day on its anniversary, this movie would not be necessary. If the media reported events in context instead of in isolation, this movie would not be necessary. But this movie is necessary.
Because what this movie does is to bring the events of that day freshly back to mind. To give you an idea of what I mean, there is a moment in the film where some of the characters are watching CNN and the first report of the explosion at the Pentagon are coming in. This was the point in time where I walked out of the shower, and saw my wife staring in horror at the TV. I turned to look on this scene. When it was shown again in the movie, my stomach sank into the pit of my stomach; it was the exact same feeling I had on September 11. When the movie ended, the audience stood and walked out. There was no talking, joking, commentary, as you would hear at the end of most movies. People were just remembering.
Go see it. Really.
UPDATE: I wrote this after having been away from the Internet for a couple of days. I then went to Instapundit, and found a lot more people saying the same kinds of things, and more besides.
UPDATE: Oh, and something I meant to mention but neglected. Many of the people in the various ATC centers and the NORAD command center were playing themselves. I believe that this is part of the immediacy of the movie: the director allows the characters to simply be seen in the acts of what they are doing on that seemingly-normal, then suddenly ghastly, day, and the intensity of people reenacting their own personal history and actions, as much as the lack of emphasis on anything that would later become almost mythical ("Let's roll!", for example, was just one in the middle of a couple of passengers — even their names aren't generally noted — talking and bucking up their courage to fight), prevents any jingoism or myth-making from coming out in the movie.
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