MovieChat Forums > 9/11: Phone Calls from the Towers (2009) Discussion > Could have been better

Could have been better

posted 14 years ago by iolande
1 reply | jump to latest

To be honest I had to stop watching this documentary because it was too much to watch. And I believe that the makers missed a great opportunity to make a great documentary and fell into the same trap that all other 9/11 docos seems to make.

Why the dramatic music and shots of the towers? Why do 9/11 docos seem to want to forcefully convey the horror of that day? I GET it! I saw it on the day, I've seen it in other documentaries. I GET that it was awful for those directly involved. What I don't get is why it was relevant to this documentary.

It detracted away from the achingly beautiful, bittersweet, sad, emotional, scary and loving things that people were saying about their loved ones they lost that day. These people had amazing things to say, a real testament to the human spirit and how people convey their love. The choices of people trapped in the towers was intriguing, and so obvious too (I like to think that I would have phoned my daddy straight away too).

If you can deal with the overly-dramatic shots of the tower (especially the ones with the labels as to where people were - you could have used pictures of the towers not on 9/11!) and the intense music there is (from the bit I watched) a lovely documentary hidden in here.

[–] puirt-a-beul 13 years ago

Mmm, I hear what you're saying, iolande, but I have a different take on it.

For me, the shots that remind of the situation at the Towers themselves serves to put the calls in context. It's what the recipients of the calls would have been seeing on their televisions when the calls were made. In particular, the shots of the damaged buildings with the tags showing where in the buildings these people were, places these people in a very real relation to the event, much more than a shot of the buildings on any other day would have done.

I understand your concern that the documentary might be dwelling on the tragedy, and kudos for feeling that matters, but I personally felt that the calls needed to be reported in the context of that day, and not sanitised of the tragedy.

You might very well think that. I couldn't possibly comment.