slurm23

i don't comment often on movies here, but this documentary is an extraordinary exception to the rule. i've seen a lot of the 9/11 stuff out there - from countless news shows, investigative reports and documentaries on mainstream media here in Europe as well as in the States to the pretentious and self-indulging "fahrenheit 911" and even to the far-out Alex Jones and "loose change" stuff. this is the first movie that asks exactly the right questions in an objective, detached and unbiased way (except if you consider the search for truth as some kind of bias).. i guess it should have been expected that in the end only the families (and in large part the strong and courageous women in those families) would be able to muster the necessary efforts for this quest for truth..

having received an academic education i tend to be careful about claims without proof or indication to the source.. i wasn't there and therefore i don't know what exactly happened on 9/11, but throughout human history being somewhat skeptical to the official version has always served societies best. the approach of this movie, the families of the 9/11 victims and the "timeline project" of Paul Thompson come closest to scientific research given the financial and organizational limits of ordinary citizens and independent reporters..

the movie doesn't give answers and will most likely be rejected by the nowadays thriving conspiracy theory community.. it doesn't rely too much on emotions or dwell on human pain and therefore will most likely miss the attention of a mainstream audience.. it only gives a brief but nevertheless important account of established hard facts and the still unanswered questions that arise as a result.

since 9/11 has been the catalyst for not only going to war in Iraq, but also changing and abolishing many laws that were created to protect the civil liberties of Americans and Europeans alike the importance of this event can't be overstated. therefore i can only recommend this movie to anyone who is interested in an mostly accurate overview of what still needs answering in regard to this tragic event.

as 9/11 will dominate the political agenda for years to come it is IMHO paramount to demand those questions answered and have some accountability realized in politics as well as in the media. we owe it to our children to ensure that not just SOME measures are taken against the threat of terrorism but that it's the RIGHT ones.. to ensure that not just ANY countries are invaded by our troops but the RIGHT ones.. only if those decisions are made on a sound foundation will there be success in the war on terror and future generations can live in a world made safer by our emancipation from official versions of world events and the unanimously consensual corporate media...

as i really liked greenwalds first documentary "outfoxed" i had high hopes for this one as well. to put it bluntly - the movie is overedited, overly sentimental and some 20 minutes too long. overedited as in too many cuts and fact-bits suggesting a more dynamic development than there is to expect (lets face it - walmart has been doing this kind of business for quite some time now).. overly sentimental as in too many people crying and a somewhat misleading selection of probably the worst possible experiences with walmart out there. about 20 minutes too long as in mentioning the poor working conditions in large parts of the world, without elaborating enough on it – that is a whole different movie and deserves to be told separately...

all things considered the movie contains way too much activism and too little documentary. the subject is most interesting and the movie has its merits also, but in my opinion it should be enough to plainly state the facts and let them speak for themselves. in that department "outfoxed" did a better job by far. still this movie is well worth a watch! it does manage to illustrate some of the issues caused by the business practices of walmart and the ramifications for ordinary people. just keep in mind that the presentation could and probably should be more objective in order to avoid partisan film-making – even more so since greenwald would have a solid case even without resorting to such techniques.