Parallel Lines

by Brian Fiore

Tragedy has a tendency to tie us together.  One of the most common questions we ask regarding tragic events is, "Where were you?"  Look back on your own life, and think about where you were, and how many times you asked others about what they were doing…

When Kennedy was assassinated.

When John Lennon was killed.

When Reagan was shot.

When The Challenger exploded.

When terrorists attacked on 9/11.

Though I was only in third grade at the time, I remember hearing about John Lennon's death very vividly.  I also remember being in the middle of math class in eighth grade, when Mr. Forgie came into our classroom and told us about The Challenger.  It was an eerily quiet feeling walking into the science room across the hall and watching the replays on television with the science classes who were watching the launch live, waiting to hear news of the survivors.  My friends and I spent hours discussing where we were and how we found out. 

Filmmaker Nina Davenport explores this in her documentary, Parallel Lines.  Davenport, a New Yorker whose Manhattan apartment had a view of the World Trade Center, was working on a film in Southern California on September 11, 2001.   As a way of both dealing with the trauma of the attacks, and of documenting the state of the country at the time, Davenport decides to drive home, filming stops and conversation with various people along the way.

Though it's not directly addressed in the film, she does not start her trip until mid-November.  I didn't realize this until ¾ of the way through the film, when she spends Christmas alone.  She times her departure so that she will arrive in New York on New Year's Eve – just in time to see the ball drop in Times Square.  She chooses a route which is far from direct.  It's essentially a six week journey which purposely takes her to out of the way locations to meet people.

The most engaging portions of the film are her interviews, and the people she meets along the way.  Among the people she encounters are apparently a schizophrenic man in California who believes that he is in charge of the war on terror and knew about the September 11 attacks five years before they occurred.  She meets a Native American in Utah who comments on the fact that Americans have essentially committed terrorist acts on his people for hundreds of years.  One man manages to link the "united planet" of Star Trek to the attacks on Pearl Harbor and of 9/11. Several people are predictably angry and calling for the death of Osama Bin-Laden.  In one interesting sequence, a boy who is ditching high school makes the most enlightened comment of the film when he states that rather than killing Bin Laden, he should be captured, studied, and asked, "why?"  Most interviewees begin talking about the events of that day, but end up disclosing personal stories of hardship that are not directly related to 9/11.

En route to New York, Davenport makes a stop in Pennsylvania to visit Flight 93's crash site. She also stops in Washington DC, but is stopped by police, nearly arrested, and is asked to leave as the video camera mounted on the roof of her car is making people nervous.  She eventually reaches her apartment, and makes her way to the window to reveal her new view of the Manhattan skyline before heading to the New Year's festivities. 

The title Parallel Lines is a clever metaphor comparing the lines on the highway, the lives of her subjects, and the symbolism of the twin towers' shape.  The film is remarkable to watch, as strangers she encounters willingly share intimate details of their lives with little or no prompting.  It is an effective way to tell her story of a nation and its people undergoing the healing process.

Viewing the film five years after 9/11 forces the viewer to remember the emotion of the time.  Parallel Lines is a most effective time capsule, and at times is extremely moving.  It's interesting to watch these events this far removed from them.  Knowing now that Bin-Ladin will not be captured, and also knowing the drastic directional change our war on terror takes us when we invade Iraq gives a sense of irony which is lacking from many other documentaries on September 11.

Parallel Lines is a well edited film which is at times both entertaining and uncomfortable.  It is definitely well worth the price of a rental.  I would further suggest adding it to a viewing list in a Contemporary History class.  The film will most certainly generate hours of conversation and debate.