September 12th (David Heinz, 2017) | USA

Reviewed by Gio Traina and viewed at the Santa Barbara International Film Festival

September 12th showcases two strangers (Joe Purdy and Amber Rebirth) road tripping from Los Angeles to New York the day after the September 11th World Trade Center attacks. These are movie debuts for the duo as the director David Heinz chose to use two musicians as the protagonists instead of actors; music plays a huge role in this movie. The message of the film is to showcase how kind and innocent the United States was during this time of terror. It does a good job of that but ends up focusing too hard on an annoying, uninteresting romantic interest arc.

The whole movie starts as Elliot and Joni listen to music together on their plane before it gets emergency landed. They decide to stick together and go to Joni’s aunt’s house where they eventually use an old beat-up van to road trip cross country. Along the way they play instruments and sing beautiful songs that were recorded live while filming. They also encounter many kind people such as a hillbilly who helps fix their van in exchange for dinner. The film tries to focus on the “innocent America” message by displaying the American flag everywhere and other symbols but as the movie goes on, its apparent that the failed love story between the two is focused on way too much instead. Some might say it would’ve made the movie more boring but it just felt unnecessary. The two musician/actors Purdy and Rebirth do an excellent acting job throughout the entire movie and play their roles masterfully.

The film at first sounds like a film that focuses mainly on how America was on the day after the September 11th World Trade Center terrorist attacks. It lives up to its message it tries to send but ultimately fails by focusing too hard on an unnecessary personal story between the two main characters. Otherwise its an engaging heartwarming story told through the eyes of two musicians and shows beautifully shot nature scenes. If you’re in the mood for a nice feel good story, this is the movie for you.

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Published:
02.20.17 / 6pm
Category:
Films, Santa Barbara Film Festival 2017