"Beslan: Three Days in September" (2006 release; 79 min.) is a documentary about the attack by Chechen terrorists on a school in Beslan, Russia, and the response to those attacks by the Russian authorities. As the movie opens, we are told that it is "September 1, 2004", as Beslan's School No. 1 celebrates the start of a new school year. Hundreds of kids grades 1 through 11, along with parents and friends, are gathering. In parallel, we see a group of Chechen terrorists, 30 men and 2 women, getting ready to drive in from the woods, and beforewe know it, they have taken over 1,200 hostages, packed like sardines in the school's gym... At this point we are 10 min. into the documentary.
Couple of comments: this documentary is directed by Joe Halderman, best known for his TV work on shows like "48 Hrs.". As it is explained to us, the film makers struck gold when archive footage is unearthed that the terrorists themselves filmed on video during those three days and the video camera was found after the conclusion of those 3 days by kids. Sometimes if is difficult to distinguish the intrinsic merit and value of a film or documentary as opposed to the subject matter of the film or documentary. In this case, though, I can state unequivocally that the documentary is well done, while at the same time it is just appalling to see the ruthlessness of the terrorists AND the parallel incompetence of the Russian authorities to respond to the hostage crisis. It absolutely blows the mind. When the situation comes to its devastating conclusion on Day 3 (by which time there is ample press coverage and hence ample archive video footage), you can't but shake your head in contempt and disgust. Julia Roberts narrates, and along the way the film makers interview a slew of people involved, in particular family members that were directly affected in one way or another.
"Beslan: Three Days in September" is not a new release obviously. I happen to stumble upon it on Showtime On Demand the other night. Glad I did. Ideally this documentary would receive an updated release with a "Where are they now" segment added at the end. In any event, I encourage you to check this out if you get a chance, and draw your own conclusion.