World Trade Centre - film review

World Trade Centre

Film Review

February 2011

I don't usually post reviews of DVD's, it somehow feels like cheating and I should really reserve my writing for films I have seen "live" at the cinema. But rules are there to be broken so here goes.

When Belle first fell and smashed her cheek Bones very kindly sent us (Belle really) a supply of DVD's - and a very good selection they were. 

Last night I was in with Jeff (Belle was out at her book group doing intellectual stuff) and we alighted on the 2006 World Trade Centre by Oliver Stone. I remember this film coming out and deciding to give it a miss because it seemed to be rather insensitive to release anything on the subject so soon after all those lives were lost.

I therefore approached it with some trepidation. In the event it turned out to be yet another film in a long line we have watched recently which have been based on the rescue of the trapped. In this case it was Nicholas Cage and fellow NYPD officers trapped under the concourse between the two towers. 

It's interesting to consider how this film handled what was an open sore in the US's, if not the World's, psyche. Far from focusing on the big picture, the fall of the twin towers was almost a backdrop to the personal struggle of two real policemen buried beneath twenty feet of rubble. I was impressed that the writers managed to find a story of hope and triumph from such a scene of utter devastation and loss - no matter how small.

For me it was a reminder if that fateful day, which is possibly the closest thing to a JFK moment in my life. For Jeff it was an eye opener about something which happened before he really became aware of world events.

Perhaps the greatest miracle of all was the number who did escape. 90% of the 40,000 souls in the buildings made it out, but given the size of the buildings the number of escapees from the rubble was minuscule - just 20, with the two hero's being numbers 18 and 19.

The towers are gone but the memory lingers on. The rubble has been cleared but still the War on Terrorism rages on.

Will there ever be "peace on earth and good will to all men?" I fear not. We seem to be a warlike race since time immemorial and beneath the surface of even the most peaceful of us there seems to lie the potential for anger, rage and destruction.