Film reveals vast
diversity of Americans’
views on 9/11

"Parallel Lines" Playing 5:30 p.m. Wednesday

As with the bombing of Pearl Harbor and the assassination of JFK, the events of Sept. 11, 2001, will remain an indelible episode in American history in which the nation's citizens recall exactly where they were when the news broke.

Filmmaker Nina Davenport was on assignment in San Diego when she heard of the attack on the World Trade Center. Though she enjoyed a clear view of the towers from her New York City apartment, it would be several months before she would see home again, minus the majestic landmark. The thought of flying back to New York unsettled her.

Instead, Davenport decided to drive across America in November 2001, indiscriminately documenting its inhabitants along the way. By traveling on back roads and allowing her many and varied subjects to express their innermost views on the events of 9/11, Davenport reveals much more about the diversity of the citizenry of this immense country and its infinite viewpoints on Sept. 11 than any newsreel.

Crackpots, cowboys, war veterans, students and segregationists impart their unique perspectives in "Parallel Lines," and through several exquisitely revealing confessions, viewers begin to see how each subject's experiences and life path have helped shape his or her view on that infamous day.

There's the cowpoke who thrice thwarted cancer, the guilt-ridden Oklahoma City bombing survivor, the downtrodden lunch-counter waitress, the carefree aluminum-can collector, the Grand Canyon ranger and the Las Vegas drive-in chapel minister.

"It seems like I keep finding people who are alone," notes Davenport. "Maybe because it makes me feel less alone."

She visits a temporary memorial to the victims of Flight 93 in Shanksville, Pa., and is accosted by edgy authorities for driving near the Pentagon with a camera attached to the roof of her car.

Wearied and reflective, Davenport finally reaches her destination in time to see her fellow New Yorkers celebrate their first post-9/11 New Year. Perhaps not surprisingly, the citizens of the Big Apple are observably more delighted than their troubled countrymen to be living -- and alive -- in America.