Tale of two brothers lost in 9/11

By FRANCES GRANT

The Twin Towers, an Oscar-winning documentary on the terrorist attacks on New York's World Trade Centre (TV One, 9.35pm), is an emotional powerhouse in small packaging.

The 30-minute documentary has been composed from footage for what was to be a reality television series about a New York City police emergency services unit, being made by American crime drama king Dick Wolf.

Presumably this was to be a factual partner to Wolf's fictional ventures, America's longest-running crime show, Law and Order, and its host of spin-offs.

Fourteen of the 23 New York City police officers killed in the trade centre collapse were from the unit being filmed, among them 34-year-old Joe Vigiano, a highly decorated policeman who had been shot twice on duty. Among the 343 firefighters killed was Joe's brother, John Vigiano, 36.

The Twin Towers doesn't have the searing, on-the-spot footage of last year's remarkable documentary 9/11 by French brothers Jules and Gedeon Naudet, who were pursuing a similar project to Wolf: making a documentary about a NYC firefighting squad.

The cameras don't go inside the buildings and the attack is shown using what has become stock footage. Instead of dwelling on the disaster, The Twin Towers tells the story of the two Vigiano brothers. It is a quiet, poignant tribute to two heroes and a fitting memorial for the second anniversary of the attacks, after last year's formal commemorations.

The film blends pre-9/11 interviews with Joe Vigiano and his colleagues discussing the demands and dangers of their job, with footage of them on crime raids and rescues, and a glimpse into the private life of the Vigiano family. In a chilling moment, Joe talks about the unpredictable nature of his work: "We go from being a SWAT team one minute, next minute we could be called to a building collapse trying to rescue people under rubble."

Most moving are interviews with the father of the brothers, John Vigiano sen, a retired firefighter himself and only too well aware of the dangers of the job.

He recounts his horror on September 11 as he watched events unfold on television, realising his sons were on the scene. "To watch those buildings come down, I'm saying, 'Oh, God. They're in there. I know it'. There's something just telling me, they're in there."

He relates how the film's title has also become a metaphor for his sons. After the collapse of the buildings, a reporter interviewed him and "called the boys the 'twin towers'. I said, 'Well how fitting, because they were"'.

Before the first American screening of the film, Wolf told the press: "It's an amazing and horrifying coincidence that they were both there. I think anybody who sees it comes away with an admiration for the sacrifice this family made.

"These were both really good guys, really good at their jobs. We got to know Joe pretty well, and he was to me the kind of cop you hoped would respond if you ever had to call the police."

The film won an Oscar this year for best documentary short film. Director Bill Guttentag said the story of the Vigiano brothers humanises the tragedy by narrowing the focus from thousands of victims to just a few.

"We're trying to take a very large story and present it as one family's tragedy ... The price this family paid is almost unimaginable, losing two sons at the same time."