The Hamburg Cell (2004) Movie Review

“Hamburg Cell” although a fictional script, is one that is based upon the known facts about these particular perpetrators and their movements in the five years leading up to September 11th, through the clandestine meetings and training camps. It has been common knowledge for some time that some of those involved in the attacks were students recruited on - campus in a German University. This is an attempt to show the methods used and how it was all planned, as well as being an exploration of the driving forces that could compel them to commit such a horrendous act.

It chooses to concentrate on two hijackers in particular, Ziad Jarrah and the now infamous Mohammed Atta. Ziad is portrayed as a typical student at first. He is laid back, has a steady girlfriend, enjoys a drink and has little interest in religion. Gradually, after approaches on campus, he becomes drawn first into the Islamic religion, which soon evolves into anger at, “Infidel society, neglecting its faith”. Atta is shown as being consistently blistering in his denunciation of Western society, and the measuring of worth by wealth. From the beginning he seems to be motivated most by his perception of the persecution of Muslims in Bosnia, Iraq, Chechnya and numerous other places, but much of his raw hatred is reserved for the United States and those of Jewish descent. These two men have been chosen as the main focus in the film, because they seem to represent either end of the scale in terms of those who committed to ‘Jihad’, with one being fervent from the beginning, and the other renouncing his previous life - apparently becoming indoctrinated by outside forces. The level of Atta’s hatred has been well documented, but as for Ziad, we can never be fully sure to what extent this is really a true reflection here – this must be in part due to limited time, but in the context the transformation feels a tad too swift. One minute he is ranting “What do you want me to do, blow myself up?” incredulously, then what feels like a short while later he is at a training camp learning how to do just that. To be fair to the film-makers though, it is to their credit that they have otherwise managed not to turn this into a melodrama. Being such a controversial subject, that is of course still very much in people’s thoughts, this is bound to come in for a great deal of criticism – some fair, some not. Some will likely say that it is just too soon for something like this, some that it shouldn’t have been made at all. That the recreations herein of these mass-murderers boarding the plane along with their soon to be victims still feels way too close to the bone. Luckily it shows no more than this, the rest is made up of TV footage. Had the film-makers ended the piece before this moment, conversely they might not really have conveyed to us their mindset, how eerily calm they seemed on that final day, how ready to die, how confident of martyrdom. Others will argue that this is an important film because it strives to comprehend how such a thing could happen, as well as trying to dispel prejudices about the overwhelming majority of Muslim people who abhor this behaviour. It shows Ziad’s uncle imploring him, “These people are losers, they’re not your people, what about your family?”, and when the World Trade Centres are hit, it patently affects everyone in the same way regardless of religion. Both pro - and anti - “Hamburg” views would be right to an extent. It does still feel a little ‘soon’, but the need for openness, comprehension and discussion take precedence in the end. Fear is always heightened by the unknown, so this ends up being a non-sensationalist piece because it succeeds on remaining unbiased, whilst still giving us knowledge about the times we live in.