Zero: An Investigation Into 9/11
- Posted: 25th Mar 2010
- Category: Reviews
Zero: An Investigation Into 9/11 is the latest in a long line of films based around the September 2001 terrorist attacks. The hypothesis of this particular documentary is that the official version of events surrounding the 9/11 attacks cannot be true, a conviction it makes with some degree of success.It’s important to state that this is a one-sided argument: there’s no one standing up for the administration. But at the same time it’s not a home for conspiracy nuts and anti-Bush fanatics; this documentary concerns itself with the criticisms and hypotheses of professors, military personnel and former government officials, and features contributions from Gore Vidal and Nobel-Prize winner Dario Fo.
The film barrages the viewer with questions, opinions and theories, some old, some new; so many in fact that it feels like a very overwhelming 110 minutes. Many of the issues raised are quite compelling: Why were terror threats ignored and then later denied? How did two buildings that should’ve been able to withstand this attack, collapse, and what caused a third building nearby to fall? How did a pilot with minimal training crash a plane into the Pentagon and why was the hole made in the building so small?
While many of these points are interesting, and some are startling, there are many other points which are not so well addressed. If a jumbo jet didn’t crash into the Pentagon, what happened to that flight? If there was more to each attack than is claimed, where does the fourth crash fit in? Why, after listening to the testimonies of academics and state officials for the first third of the film, do we start to hear the opinions of an Italian actor, whose credentials are never made clear? Perhaps most aggravating of all is the dramatics used in presenting the information. When an interview subject makes an interesting point or conclusion, it appears dramatically in text on screen and then flashes around with guitar rock snippets to enhance the shock factor. And by putting it into print, reducing it to a bullet point, not a quotation, it implies that each point is truth, regardless of whether it’s an opinion or a hypothesis.
What’s frustrating is that there are a lot of interesting questions being raised here, and by some very respectable sources. But an investigation must show both sides of the argument and not seem to gloss over information that is detrimental to its hypothesis. Furthermore, the facts should be able to speak for themselves, and not require silly theatrical presentation to give them added impact.
Despite its many interesting assertions, Zero is unlikely to change any opinions; it will most likely just reinforce the opinions of both sceptics and conspiracy theorists alike.
Dir: Franco Fracassi & Francesco Tre, Italy 2008, 110 mins
Zero: An Investigation into 9/11 is released on DVD from 26th January 2009 in association with joiningthedots.tv, the online documentary initiative from Mercury Media.
