Zero Day

I agree with a lot of what is said in this movie about people blaming the media for molding them into who they are. Also, they took a rather taboo topic and did a very good job documenting what 'could' have happened.

I watch a lot of movies, many of them random movies that I end up wanting hours of my life back for, this was not a movie that I regret seeing and believe me, I don't use those words lightly.

Cutting to the chase: This is one of the most amazing, most intense film I've seen in a long time. The first movie in years that left me absolutely staggered. I could barely feel my way out of the theatre, I was so overwhelmed.

I've been staring at the screen for about fifteen minutes trying to find some way to describe the power of this film, and just failing. Highlighting any one aspect of it -- the documentary-style video diary format, the unflinching portrayal of the events, the force of the characters -- just seems to trivialise it all. Some may find it laughable that any killer could be characterised as normal. But then not all killers are raving lunatics foaming at the mouth. Many are quite regular, unassuming people. They're just wired differently.

And that's perhaps the most chilling thought of all.

I will give this movie an 8 out of 10, only because it takes an issue that is generally considered to be absolutely horrific and puts a human face to it. While I don't endorse any behavior like this, or the actions perpetrated in the film (and it is not the director's intent to glorify it in any way), the point of view offered reminds us that the perpetrators of these acts are still human. It's a very rare talent for a director to be able to make you feel for the characters, even though you know they will carry out a horrific task later. That's what makes this movie so genuinely different from the likes of "Bowling for Columbine" or other documentaries about school shootings. This movie doesn't try to make you understand, it doesn't try to explain the reasons. It simply wants to remind you that they were human as well. Despite how our culture has come to hating criminals and becoming detached because we see them constantly on the news. Sometimes we need to be reminded of that, before we lose our humanity as well.

Saw this movie at the Rotterdam IFF. You may question some decisions of the maker - like choosing a mockumentary form for such a sensitive and horrible subject - but this movie sure hits you in the gut. Especially the last scenes were almost painful to watch. Hope it gets the distribution it deserves.

Zero Day leads you to think, even re-think why two boys/young men would do what they did - commit mutual suicide via slaughtering their classmates. It captures what must be beyond a bizarre mode of being for two humans who have decided to withdraw from common civility in order to define their own/mutual world via coupled destruction.

It is not a perfect movie but given what money/time the filmmaker and actors had - it is a remarkable product. In terms of explaining the motives and actions of the two young suicide/murderers it is better than 'Elephant' - in terms of being a film that gets under our 'rationalistic' skin it is a far, far better film than almost anything you are likely to see.

Flawed but honest with a terrible honesty.