With the seventh anniversary of 9/11, I find myself thinking of two very powerful documentaries about this terrible day. One is simply named 9/11 and is the result of one of those universal intervention things. Two French filmmaker brothers were in New York City, shooting a documentary about a rookie fire fighter, when the first plane struck the north tower. Their film subject promptly took a complete 180 degree turn.
The result is a combined effort by James Hanlon, Rob Klug and the two French brothers, Gedeon Naudet and Jules Naudet.
The second film is a documentary based upon a photograph called The Falling Man by Richard Drew. Because of its subject matter - the last moments of a man's life - I've linked to it rather than post it here.
*Link to the photograph The Falling Man*
This second film - also called The Falling Man - was directed by Henry Singer, an American-born filmmaker approached by Britain's Channel 4 to make a documentary about the disturbing power of a single frame taken by a stills camera.
My post today is actually about the power of the documentary form to make sense of an event like 9/11. I'm turning this over to the reactions of other viewers whose responses are so very moving and eloquent.
Reactions to 9/11 taken from Internet Movie Database User Comments:
"New York holds a special place in my heart. I travel there whenever I can. I have had good times there. The last time I was at the WTC was a mere 5 months before the attack. I remember standing on the roof and enjoying the view of the Hudson River on a beautiful sunny afternoon. Whenever I watch 9/11 on DVD I sometimes find it difficult to accept that the very same place is shown falling apart and in flames.
I had a cousin in the WTC on the day of the attacks. He was on the 92nd floor. Suffice it to say he did not survive.
Six months after the attacks I returned to Ground Zero. As emotional an experience as it was it did not affect me as much as this film." - Barry Weir from London, England
"9/11 is a classic example of cinema verite. It's all tiny, unobtrusive, hand-held video cameras, often betrayed by the poor quality of most of the filming (and by the director Naudet's hand frequently wiping the screen).
The viewpoint and camera angle is usually from amidst the firemen, which is interesting and there is some excellent footage from inside the lobby of WTC1 while Pfeiffer and his team plan what to do next - this is classic cinema verite. There is also the eerie, haunting sound of the occasional human body crashing against the portico outside. It is then that an increasingly forlorn Fire Chief Pfeiffer realises that his task is desperate and probably hopeless - and this is before WTC2 collapses. You have to give credit to Naudet for knowing which faces to film and at which moment.
The sound of the neighbouring WTC2 collapsing is so awfully sad, poignant and terrifying that you realise what an ordeal this is for the firemen. From the lobby, it looks, feels and sounds like the end of the world and the poor firemen look so utterly bewildered and frightened. You hear an enormous rumbling, trembling maelstrom - like that of a giant, monolithic beast slowly falling to the ground after being so mortally wounded - the neighbouring tower has collapsed." - Frankie Hudson from UK
"With the camera crew in the lobby of one building, there was a slow, constant rhythm of HUGE, explosive bangs that could be heard just outside… people jumping to their deaths, having chosen this over burning. In fact, the bodies were falling at such a fast rate soon, that firefighters and others who were now told to "MAY DAY MAY DAY!! EVACUATE!!!!" had to wait for police, who were standing on the outside, to signal WHEN they could run out of the building, so no one was killed by those hitting the ground from 80 or more stories up." - Ronn Ives, Norfolk, VA
"The courage that it took to shoot this film is most notable. We find that the two brothers are split up when that moment happened. They continue to document the bravest of the brave without knowing about their own and each other's safety.
This is why the art of filming was created! This movie shows, not embellishes, the natural bravery of real people acting in unreal times. It is art without question or questions." - Justin Fincher from San Antoni, Texas, USA
Reactions to The Falling Man taken from CBC's The Passionate Eye film discussion:
"I watched the documentary aired on The Passionate Eye called The Falling Man. I think it was a great documentary. It made me think of individual souls instead of two big buildings that were landmarks/workplaces in a great city." - Denise Griffin (CBC viewer)
"I don't think the pictures should be banned. Although disturbing they are very intriguing - I think they are life art and I'd love to see them in a museum, for all to realize how precious life is and just how quickly it can be taken away. Because to those people the day was the same as any other, an average day at work until in a split second they're all in a different frame of mind and jumping obviously felt so right and I agree with their decisions." - Stevie Leigh (CBC viewer)
"I personally witnessed 8 years of bloody war between Iran and Iraq with no result but over a million innocent people killed. Terrorists never show the unpleasant details of the damages they make and try to exploit it as a victory by saying it is slapping U.S. in the face. U.S. also tries to hide these impacts to prevent public fear and distrust in American glory. The more people see this type of pictures, the more they will hate violence, terrorists and politicians!
Seeing this picture causes more heart ache than hearing thousands of people were killed on 9/11." - Ali Afkhami (CBC viewer)
"T.S.Eliot said that 'Genuine poetry can communicate before it is understood.' The poetically horrific image of the Falling Man does just that: it says what words cannot. It has entered - one would hope forever - the lexicon of humanity's conscience." - Jerry Wowk (CBC viewer)
"I pray that he understands that his photo affected me deeply and that is not a bad thing." - Susan Miller (CBC viewer)
"Here in North America, let's face it, we avoid death and we live our lives as if we can avoid it. This man seems to have chosen how he will die and yet did he? It helps me decide how to live my life!" - V. C. (CBC viewer)
"the falling man
desperation freed
in mid flight" - Michelle Alkerton (CBC viewer)
"In the end, they all fell.
Either of their own Free Will,
or because time had run out.
All at peace with their God,
and their God with them." - John Spence (CBC viewer)
