True Films 3.0 - Kevin Kelly

9/11
By fantastic coincidence two young French filmmakers were documenting
the life of a New York firehouse for several months when the Twin
Towers were stuck by planes. Their chosen firehouse just happened to be
the closest one to the World Trade Center. By pure luck they filmed both
planes hitting the towers, and the fall of the second tower, minutes after
they exited it. This luck has made this film into an most amazing inside
look at the hellish events as the towers burned and crashed. In addition
to the expected horror, there is personal drama: you are waiting – like
the other firemen in the station – to find out who did not return from the
collapse. The footage is heroic and astounding and heartbreaking. I experienced
a huge sense of emotional closure by watching the film because
I now felt I had some idea of what happened in the offices; I felt I was
there. This documentary guarantees you a journey you won’t forget.
By Gedeon Naudet,
Jules Naudet and
James Hanlon
2002, 120 min.
Available from Amazon
Rent from Netflix
Rookies are lectured outside the station in view of the towers. Fully outfitted firemen wander through the lobby
before the first tower fell (bottom left). One of the plane engines in the street (bottom right).