United 93

I first saw United 93 on TV I think - and the comment was made that with it being the first of the September 11 movies to be released, it set a very high standard.

It's one of those movies that I feel are a _must_ see. It's based on a seminal historical event, something which touched the lives of millions and it is thus important to absorb what we can from films made around the subject.

It was thus with great expectation that I entered the cinema, alone, as per usual.

I was greeted with one of the most memorable cinematic experiences ever, not only because the movie was very good, but also because the movie brought everything so close to home.

Watching the movie is a special privilege because it's like being a fly on the wall of all the aircraft control towers as well as the military command installation, norad. You're are also taken on a journey alongside the passengers of the doomed United 93 airline.

The movie is based on the events of September 11 - and apart from the scenes inside the aircraft, there is real hard evidence to backup what you're seeing i.e. Actual recordings of the conversations between the airline pilots and control towers, as well as between control towers. Seeing the events of the day from such an intimate perspective yields real insight into the challenges faced on the day, and the gravity of events of the day. It brings it all back, like a ten ton truck!

For instance, the major in charge at Norad wasted no time in scrambling fighter jets in response, but not only did he disregard the FAA's objection to those planes flying over manhattan but the jets that were scrambled were not all armed; the option of ramming the rogue plane was real, but from whom would permission be required? I remember them saying "but it's a commercial airline"... the president would be required for something like that - you can't just dial the president's number can you? Co-operation between the various control towers involved was not up to the challenge, neither was co-operation between the control towers and the military up to the challenge.

The scenes from inside the doomed aeroplane are revealing but they are also harrowing. The bulk of the material from that re-enactment would have come from the last ever conversations between the people on board and their loved ones. The events in minute detail would have been conjecture, but for the large part, they are probably correct. That the plane was destined for the white house or some other great american landmark is highly probable, that the plane was brought down by the passengers is also highly probable, and so the events depicted in the movie are very likely.

I watched the movie by myself, and I'm glad I did because it was a very intense emotional experience. To see these people fight for their lives and die doing it was almost too much, to realise that this was not make believe - it was like I lived through what they were doing.

It highlighted big time how unbelievable that whole event was. It was only when the passengers on United 93 got word that the Trade Centre had been taken down that they realised that they were going the same way and thus took action. Typical behaviour for hijacking up until then was not to take the plane and all aboard on a suicide mission, which is probably why the other planes were not averted in the same manner, that and the extra bit of time that the United 93 passengers had.

In closing, I think one of the most acute memories I have from that experience was when the hijackers pronounced that they were doing it for god. To think that man can be so deceived and disillusioned is devastating and cut to the heart. To think that man can do something like this in the name of a god that is not a god at all...