The Hamburg Cell

Understated docu-drama following the men who planned and carried out the attacks of 9/11

"When the world talks about the men who carried out this holy operation they will be talking about the men who changed the course of history," exclaims a senior Al Qaeda member in this fictional docu-drama from director Antonia Bird. Charting the planning and execution of the World Trade Center attacks by a handful of Muslim fundamentalists led by Mohamed Atta (Kamel), The Hamburg Cell is a devastatingly powerful work that puts faces and personalities to the men who carried out the attacks against the US on the fateful morning of September 11th.

Based on a wide range of documentary evidence, from court transcriptions to video footage, this simmering yet understated little movie focuses on Lebanese student Ziad Jarrah (Saleh) as he's transformed from rich-boy student at the University of Applied Science in Hamburg to jihadist hijacker of United Airlines flight 93 (which crashed en route to the White House shortly after simultaneous attacks struck the Twin Towers and the Pentagon).

It's a difficult journey. Immersing us in the secretive, clandestine world of these fundamentalists as they indoctrinate new recruits, train at terrorist camps in Afghanistan and learn to fly at an aviation school in Florida, Bird forces a disturbing intimacy with men destined to become mass murderers.

To humanise the terrorists, The Hamburg Cell deliberately focuses on Jarrah, the weakest link of the group, whose reservations about the jihadist cause are eventually swept away. Rather than styling him as some victim of brainwashing, screenwriters Ronan Bennett and Alice Pearman delicately suggest the powerful lure of infatuation with a self-justifying cause while never losing sight of the fact that, for the hijackers, the jihad is not a first strike on America, but a counter strike in an anti-Muslim war that is being waged throughout Bosnia, Chechnya, Indonesia, Iraq and Palestine.

Claustrophobically shot and making good use of CCTV and superimposed titles to give the sense of the covert nature of the cell's activities, Bird's film refuses to release us from our intimate experience of the jihadists' world. It's a strictly non-partisan film that adamantly refuses to moralise. That will undoubtedly cause significant controversy among those who would rather condemn these men as pure evil. Rather, what this intelligent drama asks us to do is recognise their motivation - not to judge them, but to address the injustices (in particular the Palestinian crisis) that drives such heinous and misguided actions.

Verdict Bravely understated, The Hamburg Cell makes a bold attempt to humanise the terrorists behind the events of 9/11. Its studied detachment on such an emotive issue is impressive.

I just saw this movie on cable TV here in Australia and really liked it. It actually gave me goose bumps as it was really eerie. The actors were wonderful and the writing is exemplary as it really gave the story a human face without sympathizing with the act of terrorism. It showed how strange it is in this day and age that grown men can be so brainwashed into thinking that once they commit such a terrible act against humanity that they are going up into Paradise where Virgins are waiting for them. Nowhere in the Koran or the Modern Muslim world would this be accepted. THese terrorists had minds of their own and in no way would be supported by a rational Muslim society. I thought to myself while watching this movie, the Holy Prophet Mohammed would have been disgusted with this act if he were watching from above. The Prophet Mohammed was such a humanitarian that he would not have supported this kind of terrorism in any way.

I hope this movie has shown people the effect of brainwashing and what it can lead to - Just like the David Koresh's of the world or the other Cult leader who had his whole cult commit mass suicide - Brainwashing is the worst thing that can happen to someone. So please let these kinds of movies or acts be a lesson to us all and not let ourselves get caught up in such IGNORANT beliefs and doctrines as to lose our humanity. Peace be upon everyone in the whole world! Now is the time we all need each other - No matter what religion we are!

TAKE CARE EVERYONE!

I like the fact that this film is non-Hollywood in it's delivery. It's unglamorous, but still quite sophisticated in capturing the monochromatic lives of the terrorists-to-be. It presents a concise timeline of events in a pointed and deliberate manner. It doesn't pretend to be absolute or correct, and it knows it's an estimation of how things might have went down.

Inevitably, Hollywood will roll out its own 9/11 films and they will be glossy and full of big budget bloat, but this humble effort will remain as testament to the idea that a simple film can be as compelling and inviting to interpretation without the need for dramatic flair and elaborate crane rigs.

The Hamburg Cell is a docudrama about the cell of Muslim fundamentalists that conducted the 9/11 attack. It starts about 5 years before 9/11 and follows many of the pilots in their efforts to get flight training and covers what was going on in some of their private lives. Not sure how much of it was accurate, seemed pretty realistic to me. Most seemed to just be looking for some fulfillment in their lives, but chose an extreme way to get it. It also shows the missteps, in hindsight, by US law enforcement agencies as these people could have been caught many times during their training. I don't think it really explained the reasons the terrorists chose to conduct their attack, but I guess we will never really know all the facts behind it. Technically a good film with few continuity errors and some good cinematography. The acting seemed a little hollow.

I am an American who thinks that all Americans should see this film. It was just shown on HBO On Demand and I accidentally ran across it on the listing and wonder what is was about. I see nothing offensive by anything in the movie. I don't see where you would necessarily sympathize with any of the terrorists. I don't believe that was the purpose of the film. I believe the purpose of the film was to show you how someone could easily be influenced and "brainwashed" in believing what apparently Ziad Jarrah chose to believe. (By the way, I though Karim Saleh's portrayal of Ziad was excellent).

Look back at history - Jim Jones, David Koresh and the Branch Davidians, etc. - they were all brainwashing murderers and were very good at convincing people what to believe! If Americans were not offended by any of these individuals, then they shouldn't be offended by this movie.

I do believe it was sad how Ziad, who at the beginning of the movie was just an ordinary young man and was so easily turned into a terrorist.

The reason I say all Americans should see this movie is because I believe so many people are even beginning to forget 9/11. I don't - there's not a day that goes by that I don't think of what happened. I could never understand how someone could hate so much and were told that they would go to heaven by doing what they did. The movie made me understand how their minds work.

I will probably purchase the movie and save it for my grandchildren. My youngest grandson was born on 9/11/01 and I have saved everything I can so he will one day understand the significance of his birthday.

I give this movie, writers, producers and especially actors (since it must have been a hard role to portray) a "thumbs up". I hope other Americans watch this and can truly see what the film is all about - not sympathizing with the terrorist but giving a hard look into the terrorists' minds.

This is just one American's view.