Saturday, June 03, 2006

Movie of the week - Part one

UNITED 93


Remember that glorious scene in Bowling for columbine where Michael Moore, connects some of the most notorious US interventions in third world countries, like Iran, El Salvador and Chile from one side and the creation of Taliban and Bin Laden by CIA from the other side, to 9/11, sarcastically with the background song of What a wonderful world? Or that episode from 11'9''01, in which Ken Loach, who recently won the Palm d’or for The wind that shakes the barely, compares September eleventh 2001 to September eleventh 1973, when the airplane we thought was going to hit the world trade center suddenly turned out to be the one, was going to bomb Allende’s presidential palace? Or Sean penn’s short, overwhelmingly poetic and stunningly beautiful episode in the same movie?

Well, if you wish to see something quite different, see United 93, in which Paul Greengrass , has managed to make an extraordinary documentary-type movie, very much similar to his master piece Bloody Sunday.

The movie is simple, realistic and quite unlike anything else that we have seen so far. There is no love story, no degusting toast, no cheesy emotional speech of any kind, no hero, no irritating wise guy or superman, no criticism, no sarcasm, no bombarding audience with boring facts, and most of all, no demonizing of anyone whatsoever.

It’s just a real story, being told as non-judgmental as possible with performances so natural and believable that you can put yourself in place of anybody, from terrified passengers to puzzled and desperate personnels, in the control rooms.

Paul Greengrass, knowing the event itself has all the necessary elements for an emotional thriller to it, by simply retelling the September eleventh, has created a true masterpiece which is extraordinary observant, emotional and breathtaking.

So far, one of the best movies of the year.

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