11'09''01 . September 11 . USA . Sean Penn . Ernest Borgnine

[AwesomeLauraKay]

In my English class, we had to watch several clips from this film, and by far, this was my favourite. I hold so much respect for Sean Penn, not only because of this incredible film, but also the way that he managed to convey his message to the audience in only 11 minutes and with minimal dialogue. Bravo.

[Skuhyar]

oh my god, oooooohhhhhh my godddddddddd

[blakenator123]

my own personal interpretation of this film; With the towers coming down it allowed light to be shed upon many things. This re-awakens, gives life and also sheds light (knowledge - the truth). So in one case - shedding light - it made the man realise the truth and wake up from his delirium at the same time as blossoming life from the light. Although it was a tragedy it woke many people up to the truth and out of their delirium, although painful it brought life (the flowers) Thank you Penn

[blazepurp]

Very dope. Ernest Borgnine as the lead. Sean Penn youre a genius. Great camera work and post production with the shadows at the end. Brilliant.

[sofiapilagallo]

cutest thing ever made in life!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[dudosoo]

Great Sean Penn.

[Selaht13]

I actually feel sad for the people who disliked it. =\

[MSH786]

Hi weezyrokk, how are you? Thank you for uploading this USA segment by Sean Penn, but could you also upload the India segment by Mira Nair, which is based on a true story? I would really appreciate it.

[MsSeanm]

ernest sean and co kicked ass all eleven minutes nine seconds and one frame of it sean surely should have won an academy award for this piece

[Marksman18]

Simply put: perfection!

[kashimonk]

Awesome Ernest! if i could make such an evocative piece before i die, i'll feel proud...

[rica19aab]

Fuckin awesome.

[gigifable1]

its a masterpiece full of meaning. The shots, the defragmented cuts,the split screen ,that also has a certain telling,the music...all the elements and the rhythm come to create a strong reflection about what happen in this date...

Read more b4 u judge...

[tommullan]

some load of pretentious shite. thousands die and sean penn makes a glorified music video but without a decent song attached. magnificent actor but wtf was he thinking with this?

[elguachojkis]

man, this is absolute BULLSHIT.

You can`t make a full 11 mins. short film with only a 30 second idea for the ending.

I'ts a nice idea, ok. But the rest of the eleven minutes is crap, buying time 'till the end.

In this shit there's only material for a 1'30'' short, tops.

[iffoneoff]

@elguachojkis You can`t make a full 11 mins. short film with only a 30 second idea for the ending.

Of course you can. This Penn's 11 minutes are one of the best in cinematography.

[Jacoviello]

@elguachojkis man, you really don't know what cinema is. Watch TV, please, and shut up!

Otherwise reflect on what flows in front of your eyes and make a little effort to understand what does it mean. There are so many meanings in that "crap"... PLease, be careful before expressing your low profile wisdom. Please...

[threghor]

Great actor. Pure poesy.

[elmoscoRofio]

Hi does anybody knows whose is the soundtrack????

[rickyibarra]

I saw the entire movie like... for 2003 I think. I did rent the DVD, of the all works, I must be honest, the Sean Penn work was the best. That was seven years ago. Now I see it again and I remember the feeling. God, time go fast.

[lavalake33]

This is the best piece on 911! Marvolous.

[NikaMamulashvili]

ყველაზე მაგრად დანახული 11.09.2001

[redbeppe]

il mio 11 settembre . ed in culo alla retorica nazionalistica e guerra fondaia e del terrore

[Judas666Schrader]

How does Sean Penn go from critisising the Bush administration to propogating "anti-terror" propoganda?

[fabsternyc]

@Judas666Schrader because the treath didn't come from Iraq......

[vampiretooth]

brilliant

[pierobarale]

Grande Attore.

[akbrais]

Absolutely amazing short film. And for those of you who couldn't see the beauty in it, either you're heartless or you can't recognize a piece of art. 9/11 is a whole lot more than the loss of thousands of people, as tragic as it was.

[Pleaver]

Penn is a brilliant director, a brilliant actor. Nothing else need be said.

[manutdfanatics]

Genius.

[AsianMangoAddict]

I saw this in school a couple of days ago.

[SecretIVUIIHear]

If god wants us to kill each other, it only means that god doesn't exist. It's actually a man who makes weapons.

[electricboogie77]

SEMIOTICS BOYZ

[VooDooU22X]

i like Ernest Borgnine , soul man .

[Foodfast123]

I see you people watch too much tv.

[mcscanlon]

This was so awful it's hard to know where to start.

First, the first 8 minutes of the film were just boring. A crazy old man lives alone in an NYC rathole - great. Couple that with needless pretentious shots - slow motion and split screen - and the first part amounts to dullness masquerading as genius.

Then, the actual towers coming down. To the extent that the Creative Writing 101 metaphor means anything, it's that even when 3,000 people are murder, you can still stop and smell the roses. Ugh

[mcscanlon]

When I ask the YouTube community to explain the ending I expect to get about 10 different interpretations. That's not a sign of deep filmmaking, it's a sign of a confused, and meaningless short story.

[Foodfast123]

...Dont you see the way it's shot? Edited?

[Pleaver]

Are you serious. The poetic nature of this piece is amazing. It's a sonnet. Truly profound. This is a lonely widower, not a crazy old man.

[Paxomaniac007]

I saw this in a film course not too long ago, and I always like how after seeing it the first time I was able to go back and appreciate the way it was scripted.

He makes some comment about needing light to wake up and I always liked how that message seemed to work for the overall idea that it was only when horror struck we were able to look around and see the beauty in life again.

It was a great contrast to the other submissions in the film.

[theconzo]

I always interpreted the symbolism of the flowers growing as a metaphor meaning that from all evil, some good grows.

...That's just my interpretation though, reguardless this short is truly beautiful.

[RobinRaynor]

We watched this at school. And me and a friend were crying in class.

[TsukiNoCurse]

"The events of that day, tragic as they were, seemed to have been overwhelmingly coopted by the media. And somewhere inside all of us, I think, is not only the recognition of the losses and impact of those horrifying events but also of the mother who lost a son to a drunk driver on that day, to an overdose, a daughter to a (...)," says Penn. "Loss comes every day and pain follows it. The question has always been how to be at peace with today and believe tomorrow can be better."

[mcscanlon]

But 9/11 wasn't a tragedy, as Penn describes it. It was a premeditated political act in the name of a totalitarian, violent, and backward ideology. To make a 9/11 story with the same thought process as say, The Sweet Hereafter, shows sloppy thinking, and ultimately moral ignorance.

[ratcrow]

Maravilloso, simplemente... maravilloso.

[isyanbull]

hmm, i dont know.

i just have the feeling, that its deeper than we all realize...

[isyanbull]

can it be, that theres a political message too?

im not sayin there is a political message, but the fact that the flowers flourish after the first tower falls is a little odd.

[nemirc]

Well you could look at it like that or you could think of it as what the flowers mean to the old man.

The flowers need light to wake up, and there's light after the tower goes down. We now fast forward mother nature so that he's happy because the flowers flourish but sad because his wife is not there with him to see them flourish.

In the meantime the man doesn't give a crap about the towers because he doesn't even notice they're gone...

[memo1413]

OMG, very touching...

[MissesPapillon]

This is INCREDIBLY touching.

Real art, real poetry- simply very deep and meaningful.

Who needs a political statement since most politicians cannot even feel?

Empathy is the one and only virtuous law.

[JohnnyCee3]

10:45 you can see the shadow of the second towers falling to the far left of the screen

[anchoos182]

There you understand his appartment was in the shadow of the towers and now the first one fell, there's light everywhere, and he just cares about the light and the flowers. But it's also light in his mind: he suddenly understands his wife is dead. Maybe as if she died with the tower and the people who were in it. And finally, at the end, the second tower falls too. This may be an explanation, not a commentary.

[anchoos182]

--' well I didn't want to tell you why this part is interesting, it's like explaining why a joke is funny... but if you really need it: the character lives alone, in his world, like in a bubble, he's half mad. He lives in the past and is unaware of what is happening outside. And, like him, you might haven't noticed the darkness until the tower falls;

[windmillchild]

Sorry if i seem really stupid, but could someone please explain this to me? I think i get most of it, but I'm using it for my english thing so I want to make sure I have it right! Thanks.

[anchoos182]

Watch carefully from 08:02 to 08:24.

[windmillchild]

oh haha thanks heaps!yay my exams tomorrow.

[TheWitcherFanboy]

Big Shave by Martin Scorsese?

:P

[anniedossey11]

does anyone know the name of the first song that is used? the guitar piece?

[Looserkid13]

do you think there's a soundtrack from this short? Anyone?

i mean i want the music...

[prak97]

sospiro by Bardo State

[prak97]

No sorry ...the soundtrack I have no idea .....But Bardo State used part of this film for their music video ...( Sospero ) ...check it out

[Bekksta85]

There are so many great shorts in this series, While I have to say this one is great its also one of the more self centred pieces.

[MissesPapillon]

Light to see and time to feel...

[Luc22a]

i need light to wake up

[Fnoalle]

Fantastic film!

Very vague in message though. Now I don't believe that films need to have "message"! But Americans would. Especially a film belonging to a series like this one!

Also, shame about the music. Drippy. [shivers]

[Looserkid13]

you're an idiot for not finding the message.

[enzim12]

Perfect!!!

[beckett906]

beautiful

[mercutiana]

this short movie has an incredible power. in it there isn't only the commemoration of 9 11, but also a story that rappresents every people. it touches our heart. when i saw it at the first time, i cried. awesome.

[ashweirdo]

I've cried every single time.

Too bad this movie couldn't have been more well-received.

[BillyChaka]

do you have any other of the short films from the compilation?

[princesadelaos]

You should look from the Mexico and England part, they're my favourites along with this one.

[r0ughnt0ugh]

you need to look more with symbolism to understand this movie

[r0ughnt0ugh]

comon the last minute has everything to do with 911, when the tower collapse light can finally enter he home, then the man has a moment of epiphany and realizes that his wife is dead, it has everything to do with 911,the fall of the tower shed a light over the USA and they could now see that life is not that good, it is not like in fairy tales where everything ends perfectly

[ariels36]

I agree w/ you. Some people think that 9/11 was just about the collapse of the towers. without thinking that this tragedy affected all of us. No matter if you where not living in NY

[MaxGiu]

@r0ughnt0ugh thanks for heelping people who cant understand

[tedwilli9]

@r0ughnt0ugh I agree. But it's also a positive ending as well...because the flowers start to bloom. Life goes on, etc.

[devinroberts1984]

the worst short movie in this movie, and I'm a sean penn fan, but i mean come on, what the fuck did this really have to do with september 11, other than the last minute of the film.

[londongeezar]

i agree with u,excuse my ignorance but i aint got a clue about the point they tried to make with this short

[BlueTolerated]

I may be wrong but I don't think Sean Penn had something political or anything to say about the event.

It's simply, and amazingly esthetic, I think, and that's all I got out of it.

[londongeezar]

sean penn did get political about the iraq war before it started,i thinkhe even flew out there to see the innocent people america going to murder, ihope my facts are right

[BlueTolerated]

I'm talking about this movie in particular. He isn't giving out a political opinion in it. It's obvious.

[locojohnston]

are you kidding me?

[londongeezar]

im serious

[michlong1]

This guy was always a great. He should have received more awards but as anything in this life goes if you ain't kissing someone ass you ain't getting!! And reading the comments about him "passing the pit"? as the old saying goes 50% of all men (and woman) masturbate and the other 50% are liars!

[gustavogomezdiaz]

Great Actor. I like all of his movies. Why did he not get the Oscar? He deserves it.

[josmcg]

beautiful film. one of the best I've seen on youtube.

[f1racer]

wtf didnt borgnine get an oscar for this?!?!?!?!?!/

[tedwilli9]

@f1racer because you can't be nominated for short subject. 

[smackOfatz]

one of the best short movies ever made.

[edgarferreira]

Beautiful. Someone know the name of the songs?

[LiangZunxian]

really poorly executed... penn should stick to acting

[AtomicPeace]

Why do you think it was bad?

[devinroberts1984]

I agree with Liang, it really was a nice piece of art but I mean come on, in the relm of what the movie was all about it was almost like Penn was trying to hard to be different and artsy, and almost put a poetic spin on such a tragic event. But I mean come on if this was good direction than what the hell is really going on, I mean 10 minutes spent on one poetic point. To artsy for me.

[Pleaver]

10 minutes spent to articulate the loss of live and of America's innocense is to much for you. C'mon man. Have a heart.

[Pleaver]

You're a dope. Penn is a brilliant film maker and this is Exhibit A.

[watersigns01]

This was absolutely brilliant, every emotion that can be evoked...was!

[marvin6002]

awesome and one of the only sane comments expressed on that event.

[ramb63]

very very sad and wonderful piece. I have never seen a more commovent and so real film. Thank you for this piece.

[Gelato29]

Relative ,Bizzar, topp idee.

[DonJacinto]

best one on that movie

[jadfakhry]

nice peace of cinema

[jadfakhry]

nice peace of cinema

[EdwardLion]

An absolutely amazing piece of cinema.

[goldsmith3rd]

well its a differnt side of eb ive never seen before

[MICKTAM12]

it was very touching...

[GriffMJ]

nice piece.