3 of 3

3. Do you think the film is "non-political"? Do you think the film is implying anything about the political or religious elements of that day? Explain.

World Trade Center is rated PG-13 for intense and emotional content, some disturbing images (including distant images of people jumping from buildings, images of people covered in blood, and up-close images of people trapped and dying under falling rubble) and language (half a dozen four-letter words, and a couple of uses of the Lord's name in vain).

Photos © Copyright Paramount Pictures

© Peter T. Chattaway 2006, subject to licensing agreement with Christianity Today International. All rights reserved. Click for reprint information.

In 2001, as the nation was reeling from the terrorist attacks that were broadcast on live television, writers, artists, and journalists contemplated how these events would affect different areas of our lives, and how things would change. Some of these writers asked whether Americans would lose their appetite for big-screen horror and violent entertainment. (I addressed this very question in two special editions of Film Forum, here and here.)

Almost five years later, very little has changed. Disaster movies are still big business, and moviegoers consistently make bloody horror movies into huge successes. Whether this is a good or a bad thing — that's open to discussion and debate. Some of these movies make money by sensationalizing violence and appealing to our appetite for excessive spectacle. Others give us perspective on terrorism and violence that proves meaningful and even comforting.

So it was inevitable that the event would inspire works of popular art and entertainment. In the days immediately following September 11, a familiar mantra was repeated by those who experienced it: "It was like a movie." Now … it is a movie. Two movies, in fact.

The first, United 93, directed by Paul Greengrass, has become one of the year's most highly acclaimed films, and there are already whispers about Oscar nominations—but the film's low box office numbers made its big-screen release short-lived. The second film, Oliver Stone's World Trade Center, opened last week, giving us different view of that these devastating events.

Christian film critics are giving the film positive reviews, impressed that Stone has reined in his tendency to provoke us with conspiracy theories and politics.

Steven D. Greydanus (Decent Films) compares the two films as well, and finds World Trade Center to be "more a sentimental melodrama than the story of an event. … Where Paul Greengrass's brilliant United 93 crafted a documentary-like anatomy of events without presuming to get inside people's heads or explain actions or motivations, World Trade Center is a more conventional Hollywood film, with dramatic dialogue, characters following clearly plotted arcs, and a swelling soundtrack to reinforce the mood."

Greydanus also finds it ironic that Stone's film is "as unabashed a tribute to heroism and human decency as Hollywood has produced in years."

Harry Forbes (Catholic News Service) says, "[S]ome may be disappointed by the narrow focus here. … Nonetheless, Stone and screenwriter Andrea Berloff have given us an inspiring picture of bravery, fortitude and sacrifice in the face of enormous adversity, and whatever the film's shortcomings, that's undeniably a story worth the telling."

"[T]he tightly interwoven themes of friendship, family and faith are among the most compelling of any film I've seen in a long time," writes Adam R. Holz (Plugged In). "I couldn't stop thinking about my wife, my parents and siblings, my close friends as I watched this drama unfold. … I was also impressed by the positive treatment given to a Christian man and the guiding role of his faith. … Still, like United 93, World Trade Center is not an easy film to watch."

"Stone has shown admirable restraint in the visual presentation of the material here," reports Christian Hamaker (Crosswalk). "It's a total package that honors a wounded nation and the spirit of its diverse people. Like the actions of so many on that day, and in the days that followed, World Trade Center is something to be proud of."

Most mainstream film critics were pleased with the results, but, as you might expect, films about subjects this controversial and sensitive will tend to provoke some strong reactions indeed.

first page |  3 of 3