09.17.06
Lee1990 Movie Review: United 93
This movie shares a lot in common with Schindlers List. Both are difficult to the point of physical pain to watch, but necessary reminders of the great evils that the world has faced and still faces. After all, both Islam and Nazism suffer from the cancer of anti-Semitism. In the case of Nazism, it was fatal, and it may well prove to be so for Islam.
As to United 93, the movie has no tiresome documentary cliches, such as flashbacks. It is done with the real time intensity of 24, with the added impact that the story is not a work of fiction. The pace is fast as the action moves from the air traffic control centers in New York, Boston, and Cleveland, as well as NORAD. The final 5 minutes, showing the passenger revolt, are the single most intense scenes I have ever seen in any movie. Several people in the theater I went to were openly weeping by the end credits.
Those who would label this propaganda in a derisive way are fools. They are also stating the obvious. The movie is propaganda. Propaganda need not be based on lies or even distorted truths. The purpose of propaganda is mobilization of a people under threat. That threat is not always an illusion created by the propaganda, and that is certainly not the case here. We all saw it firsthand as it unfolded. We are at war, and we must be reminded of the ruthless cruelty of the enemies we have fought (Schinder’s List) and the enemies we fight now (United 93).
