9/11: The Falling Man
9/11: The Falling Man
| 01 January 0001 (USA)
SEASON & EPISODES

Reviews
Beanbioca As Good As It Gets
Comwayon A Disappointing Continuation
Kaelan Mccaffrey Like the great film, it's made with a great deal of visible affection both in front of and behind the camera.
Bob This is one of the best movies I’ve seen in a very long time. You have to go and see this on the big screen.
luvdownunder I couldn't stop crying. It brought back that day like I was seeing it all again. Yes it is hard to see, but important to remember the people whose lives were lost and the horrible decisions they were forced with that day.
Ted MacDonald I just finished watching this film on a streaming service. Strange I'd not seen it before. Apparently, since it is a British production, it must not have gotten much distribution in the outlets I frequent. Its minuscule list of nominations and awards reflects a much undeserved lack of attention in the U.S., to my mind. Of all the stories I've seen on the 9/11 attack, and there have been many, this film puts the most honest and telling human face on that horrendous tragedy. Before seeing this film, the thousands of people who died that day were a mass of faceless unknowns to me. Through thought provoking interviews with eyewitnesses, coworkers and family members of lost ones, ones who died in the most horrible of circumstances and were filmed jumping to their deaths, the film brings to life real everyday people consumed by this horrific event. As its title suggests, the story unfolds around an iconic picture taken of a man falling from high up on the Trade Center building and the investigation by the photographer who took the picture to try and determine the identity of the falling man. With the twists and turns of a mystery tale, the story of the investigation is told with great humanity and artistry and impact. This film should be counted as a classic in its coverage of what really happened in peoples lives on that day. A day that will live forever in the minds of not just Americans but people everywhere.
PeachHamBeach A very moving and revealing documentary in which a photographer and a journalist both try to establish the identity of a man captured in a photo, having fallen or jumped from one of the WTC towers. The film presents a very poignant fact about the jumpers and those who fell to their deaths: They made a choice to do this rather than burn to death. And for some reason, their actions disturbed many to the point where we don't like to talk about it. Some people have "judged" them as committing the unpardonable sin. I do not wish to trample on the religious beliefs of anyone, but I will say this. I would have chosen jumping had I been in that situation. The thick smoke and intense heat was more hideous to them than leaping into fresh air, as one husband commented. "It must have felt like flying." Let us not stigmatize the jumpers and those who fell. They were not "bad" people because they died this way. These people have weighed heavily on my mind for a few days since the anniversary. Just something to think on...
bob the moo When two planes hit the World Trade Centre on 11/9/01 thousands lost their lives in a variety of ways. The media was full of images fed live on television and also in the newspapers; one set of images more than any other caused controversy and universal condemnation – those of people falling or jumping. Over the next few days these images were removed and replaced with more images of the heroic response, of the American spirit in evidence – fire fighters, policemen and such. This documentary looks at the fate of those trapped by the flames who were faced with a horrible decision and the identity of the famous and terrible image of the falling man as taken by Richard Drew.Even years later it is hard to view images of 11th September without welling up. It is true that the civilian victims of that day are no less worthy of our remembrance than the civilians killed by the coalition in Iraq, but personally I have never seen mass slaughter unfold before my eyes in the same way that it did on this day. We can debate about whether or not our world should continue to be shaped by it years later (Afghanistan, Iraq, erosion's of civil rights etc) but this was not what was going though my head as I watched this film. Instead what I was thinking about was the people, their fate, their choices and their lack of options.I remember the pictures the next day in the UK and recall reports of people jumping or falling to their deaths and I do recall their noticeable absence in the days after the event. So I was intrigued by this documentary because it is not something that the media-savvy US Government want us to think about, even though it is as real as the firemen who gave up their lives trying to save others. In my own opinion those who think that the "jumpers" were not heroic in their own way simply has not thought about the situation they were in or what they themselves would do in that situation. This film spends the first half getting to grips with the attack itself and then the second half dealing with the investigation into who the man in Drew's photo was. The first half is naturally emotionally impacting and as disturbing as I've always found the footage and of 11th September. It is moving to hear the relatives talk and was tastefully done. The second half steps away from the day well and it is interesting and a worthy investigation.The film maybe doesn't deliver it that well but it is still engaging and does pull out a deeper meaning to its existence rather than just seeking out tabloid headlines. The focus on real people makes it work and is a good look at a subject that nobody else in the media seemed to want to address. I suppose in this regard the film is well worth a look simply because everyone else dropped the subject and focused on the images that make for a better feeling (the heroes and the heroic deaths) rather than those that died in a way that was much more difficult to deal with.Overall this was a good documentary that deserves a look because of its subject and also because of the sensitive manner in which it deals with it. It isn't fun of course but it deserves to be seen for what it does well.
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