Very loud, incredibly close
Directed in 2011 by Stephen Daldry, puts the gaze of a child at center stage in the aftermath of September 11th and the profound meaning of loss. Little Oskar’s father (Tom Hanks) died in the attack on the Twin Towers. Gifted with an uncommon sensitivity, the child has not yet managed to process his grief. After finding a mysterious key, he becomes convinced that it is a message from his father: Thus begins an adventure on the streets of New York, in search of an answer to his pain. The film, based on the bestseller by Jonathan Safran Foer, despite some emotional excess, it shows the most intimate and personal side of this tragedy.
Zero Dark Thirty
Kathryn Bigelow brings to the screen an articulated look and full of suspense on the consequences of the attack on the Twin Towers. Jessica Chastain And the American Maya, a CIA analyst which, since September 11, 2001, he made the search for Bin Laden his mission number one. After years of investigations and leads that turned out to be untrue, she found the possible refuge of the Al-Qaeda leader but her superiors found it difficult to believe her. An obsessive manhunt which becomes metaphor of the sense of justice of an entire nation.
The 25th hour
The best movie about 9/11? The poignant and bitter The 25th hour. One year after the tragedy, Spike Lee shows the physical and psychological wound of New York through Monty’s story (Edward Norton), a drug dealer who was sentenced to 7 years in prison. He spends his last hours of freedom with his loved ones, reflections on his life choices and on who betrayed him. A merciless account of a wrong existence but with the courage to move onpaying one’s debt to justice. In the background, a city transformed foreverwhich perhaps will never be able to replace the chasm of Ground Zero. In the castbeyond an amazing Edward Nortonsuperlatives Philip Seymour Hoffman, Brian Cox, Barry Pepper.
World Trade Center
In World Trade Center, Oliver Stone puts aside any political emphasis to tell the true story of two survivors of September 11th. Agents John McLoughlin (Nicolas Cage) and Will Jimeno (Michael Peña) are among the first to intervene during the attack but they get trapped under the collapse of the Twin Towers. After a long and complex operation by all the forces in the city, they are miraculously extracted alive. A rescue that it is both a hymn to hope, be a tribute to the courage and resistance of Americans. In the cast a colorless Nicolas Cage and a very good Michael Shannon in the role of an indomitable sergeant.
September 11, 2001
In 2002, a collective of 11 directors from all over the world made the film in episodes 11’09″01 – September, focused on the attack on the Twin Towers. The result is a wonderful and touching story that shows the sensitivity of each artist faced with one of humanity’s great tragedies. Some splendid short films by Samira Makhmalbaf, Claude Lelouch, Yusuf Shahin, Danis Tanović, Idrissa Ouédraogo, Ken Loach, Amos Gitai, Mira Nair, Sean Penn and Shōhei Imamura, the most touching is that of Oscar winner Alejandro González Iñárritu. A collage of journalistic footage and archive images interspersed with a black screen. In the background noises, screams, farewell phone calls from the victims to their loved ones. Then the silence and the fall of the bodies from the Towers, those of the victims who threw themselves into the void.
Fahrenheit 9/11
In 2004, Michael Moore breaks into Hollywood with one of the most ferocious criticisms of the policies of a President of the United States. The documentary, with a very personal and ironic language, analyzes George W. Bush’s actions in the aftermath of the September 11 attackhighlighting his mistakes, the inadequacy of his administration and the consequences on the population. From the controversial elections to the equally criticized Iraq war of 2003, an empty box cloaked in patriotism, highlights the ambiguities of a politician and shrewd businessman. Fahrenheit 9/11 won the unexpected in the year of its release Palme d’Or al Cannes Film Festivaldemonstrating how cinema can be at the service of society.
United 93
United 93, directed in 2006 by Paul Greengrass, tells about September 11th starting from true story of United Airlines Flight 93. The only one of the 4 planes hijacked by terrorists which managed not to explode thanks to the courage and sacrifice of its passengers. Such a total adherence to the tragedy that it will be remembered as one of the truest and most distressing films on the subject. The credit goes not only to the dry style but to the far-sighted choice of a cast of little-known actorscapable of making the viewer emotionally empathize. Four al-Qaeda terrorists take control of Aircraft 93 headed to San Francisco. The passengers, terrified, after being informed of the attack, they understand that the flight could be used to hit the Pentagon. A desperate fight against the 4 kamikazes that ends in tragedy: the plane crashes shortly after takeoffin a field in Pennsylvania, without any survivors.
Reign over me
In 2007, director Mike Binder addresses the tragedy of September 11th by speaking not of the attack but of the devastating pain of those who have lost loved ones in the collapse of the Two Towers. Charlie (Adam Sandler) He is a former dentist and lives in New York. His life was stopped by the death of his wife and daughters, died in the World Trade Center tragedy. He spends his days playing video games and avoiding any human contact. Alan (Don Cheadle) he is a successful doctor with a beautiful family but it feels incomplete. The two, former college friends, meet after years and the old friendship resumes between them. The strong bond will give meaning to one’s existence. Adam Sandler at his best in one of the most interesting and complex roles of his career. The soundtrack boasts magnificent pieces such as The River by Bruce Springsteen and the song by Pete Townshend, performed by Pearl Jam, which gives the film its title.
12 soldiers
In 12 Soldiers the political consequences of the attacks on the Twin Towers are told following the events of American soldiers on their first mission in Afghanistan. A few days after September 11, 2001, US special forces soldiers go in advance in Afghanistan to support the allies in the future battle against the Taliban. At the head of the group is Captain Mitch Nelsonready to resolve the many and unexpected difficulties of a war that is anything but technological. Brave soldiers achieve military success even on horsebackthe only means available. Hero of this action movie is the handsome and talented Chris Hemsworth.
TheReport
Adam Driver, Annette Bening, Jon Hamm and Matthew Rhys in a thriller which tells the unpublished aspects of post-9/11 America. Based on a true story the film, written and directed by Scott Z. Burns, follows the assignment of Daniel Jones (Driver), staff member of Senator Dianne Feinstein (Bening), which investigates the conduct of the CIA during the Bush presidency. Despite the difficulties and obstacles, Jones discovers that the officers at the timeequipped with greater decision-making powers due to the emergency, they used brutal methods with the prisonerstransforming interrogations into real and unnecessary torture. A decidedly difficult relationship to accept. Chief of Staff Denis McDonough (Hamm), will do everything not to make it public. In the wake of the political films of the 70s, a story that stylistically opposes the point of view of Zero Dark Thirty.
