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| 11'09''01
Directed By: Youssef
Chahine (segment "Egypt") Plot
Summary - Review 1 - Review
2 - CURRENT REVIEWS
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| In the aftermath of the tragedies on September 11, 2001, the French film company Studio Canal called upon a group of filmmakers, representing various regions of the world, to address the scope of the situation in however broad or intimate a context as they saw fit. The one guideline they were given was that no one film could exceed 11 minutes, nine seconds, and one frame. The resulting omnibus film, 11'09"01, showed at festivals around the world the following year and garnered a theatrical release in 2003. Each filmmaker's entry takes a different approach: French director Claude Lelouch tells the tale of a World Trade Center tour guide who is on the verge of a breakup with his deaf girlfriend when the terrorist attacks hit; similarly, Hollywood actor-director Sean Penn chronicles the lonely existence of an old man living not far from the Twin Towers. Egyptian director Youssef Chahine and British social realist filmmaker Ken Loach created the most controversy with their entries, which, respectively, address the points-of-view of a suicide bomber and of a Chilean who recalls the brutal coup funded by the United States in his country on September 11, 1973. Alejandro González Iñárritu's piece is the most abstract, taking images from television on the day of the attacks and cutting them with selected bursts of sound. Samira Makhmalbaf, Danis Tanovic, and Idrissa Ouedraogo all tell small-scale stories of the effects of the attacks on tiny villages in Iran, Serbia, and Burkina Faso, respectively. ~ Michael Hastings, All Movie Guide[TRAILER] Seen today, two years after the horror that befell New York City and Washington, D.C., “September 11” is more powerful than it would have been shortly following the terrorist attacks. If this had screened closer to the tragedy, segments using these events as a springboard for other political messages would have seemed self-serving and inappropriate. Conversely, two years from now segments focusing on the specific details of that sunny Tuesday morning will lose their potency as the day becomes a faded, distant memory. But at this instant in time, “September 11” is the perfect balance between a revisiting of the acute horrors of the day and a questioning of the tragedy’s larger meaning. 11 directors were chosen from around the world to create short films lasting exactly 11 minutes, 9 seconds and 1 frame (11’09”01), each representing a unique cultural perspective of the September 11 events. The three best segments address the day itself. Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu’s film from Mexico remains black for most of its running time, using primarily sound clips from 9/11 to create a most vivid and haunting collage. Always present in the background is an intermittent thumping noise, which later is revealed to be the sound of bodies hitting the ground. Only at the end does the nightmarish blackness fade into a surprisingly powerful white light, asking, “Does God’s light guide us or blind us?” Samira Makhmalbaf’s film from Iran shows a teacher attempting to explain the events to a class of youngsters. The kids, who refuse to be quiet, may represent the innocence that was lost that day. As they debate other issues, most notably God, it becomes clear they cannot process the true gravity of the situation. I envy them that. Mira Nair’s film from India focuses exclusively on one real person – a Pakistani woman who found herself branded the mother of a terrorist when her son did not return home the day of the attacks. Only later, after friends and neighbors have abandoned her, is the truth revealed: Her son, a trained medic, rushed to the World Trade Center that day and died in the collapse. Respectively, these shorts capture what many remember most vividly about the event – the shocking carnage of that day, the unspeakable barbarism that jolted America into the 21st century, and the personal stories of heroism and loss that continue to reveal themselves to this day. Even the weakest segments from Egypt and Japan, while unsuccessful and awkward, deliver interesting theses on war, the human psyche and the rifts that still exist between America and the rest of the world. For some, these segments will detract from the better ones, and that’s a shame. This is not meant to be a short film competition, but a collective response to a state of mind and a dominating philosophy. Some directors chose to revisit that day, others to open people’s minds to differing thoughts and emotions. English director Ken Loach reminds America of another September 11, in 1973 when American violence in Chile paralleled modern acts of terrorism. Yet all of these short films have something distinct to say, and no director takes the path of least resistance. Three days ago Michael Ragusa was buried – the last firefighter from 9/11 to be put to rest. Experiencing “September 11,” we revisit that day two years ago, and remember why Mr. Ragusa received a hero’s funeral.   Check out Reviews, Commentary, and More at Zertinet.com |
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September
11th is in a unique moment in history, in that the world at large
has not collectively decided how it feels about it. I doubt there
are many people in the world who would stray from the conventional
feelings about D-day. Even the controversy surrounding the atomic
bomb in Japan has reached a consensus about what the arguments are,
and the difficulty of the decision. And I doubt anyone would argue
that the US should not have entered WWII following Pearl Harbor. If you have difficulty removing yourself from your isolation, you might be surprised by the fact that some people in the world support the terrorist activities against the World Trade Center. While very few would actually carry out the actions themselves, there is certainly sympathy for them. The US response to the attack has incited our enemies even further. That is what makes “September 11” such a compelling movie. You rarely see films, all of the same length, in response to the same subject matter, and each of these shorts has a completely different cultural bias. Films from well established cinematic countries (Iran, America, Britian, Japan, France) are polished, follow established film guidelines and have much more complicated plots and metaphors. Films from some of the less developed countries have a much different feel to them. Somehow they feel more like documentaries than films. This gives the overall composition a juxtaposed feel to it. The responses from the smaller developing countries somehow seem more real and more pressing. We realize all the other things happening around the world at the time. These films lack metaphor, but instead revolve around real events. The films from developed countries seem removed and based in abstract thought. Sean Penn and Shohei Imamura have create films whose message is so hidden in metaphor they have a much less urgent and real response. The eleven short films vary in quality and content. The film from Egypt, in particular, is simply not a good film. In fact, it was by far the most painful eleven minutes of the entire piece. This is closely followed by the Japanese film – another failure. Each movie is painful for the opposite reason. The Egyptian film makes no effort to mask its beliefs in art. They are simply talked out, in horribly forced dialogue. The Japanese film is so hidden in metaphor that it simply doesn’t make sense. The rest have varied degrees of quality. The Israeli film, shot in a documentary strategy, impresses on the audience the fact that they have to live with terrorism every day of their lives. The Iranian piece shows their concerns that day with preparing for American attacks by building shelters. These people worry about getting water and which family member dies from labor that day. September 11th only affects them in their fear of reprisal, which becomes a common theme of several works. While most concentrate on the more emotional aspects of the attacks, it would be extremely closed-minded of us to assume that this was the most important thing to happen to everyone in the world that day. As Sean Penn seems to suggest, September 11th may have even been a good thing for some people (although I think there is a much more political metaphor at play here). Regardless of what your political beliefs on September 11th are, this series will probably make you think more about how you view the events. You’ll probably cry. (It’s very hard to watch the film from Mexico and not get terry eyed.) Most amazingly, you’ll see a variety of different views of the events and get a rare glimpse into a variety of different film styles. |
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