`THREE DAYS' RELIVES RUSSIAN BLOODBATH.Byline: David Kronke Television Critic A student, fists clenched clench tr.v. clenched, clench·ing, clench·es 1. To close tightly: clench one's teeth; clenched my fists in anger. 2. , roams through a bullet-riddled wreck of an edifice. It used to be a school; now, it stands as a monument to everything that is tragically misguided about terrorism. ``I can't make sense of this,'' the young woman says in voice over. She's hardly alone -- wiser, more worldly minds remain baffled by the events in the small, rural town of Beslan in Southern Russia in September 2004, when Chechen terrorists, weary of their never-ending war for freedom from Russia, brought the war to the school. Three days later, 331 hostages -- including 176 children -- were dead. ``Three Days in September,'' a Showtime documentary by CBS News veterans Joe Halderman, Susan Zirinsky (``9/11'') and Peter Van Sant SANT South African Native Trust , narrated by Julia Roberts, can't make sense of the tragedy, either. But it examines, as clear-eyed as possible, the traumatizing attack and its sorrowful sor·row·ful adj. Affected with, marked by, causing, or expressing sorrow. See Synonyms at sad. sor  row·ful·ly adv. aftermath.
Thirty heavily armed terrorists wielding guns and bombs charged into the school grounds, herding some 1,200 hostages into an oppressive sweatbox sweat·box n. 1. A box in which something, such as hides or fruit, is fermented by sweating. 2. Slang A confined place where a person sweats, especially: a. An interrogation room. b. of an auditorium that they thoroughly wired to explode. ``We came here to die, and you will die with us,'' they warned hostages, who were denied water and bathroom privileges. After a chaotic 10-hour firefight fire·fight n. An exchange of gunfire, as between infantry units. on the third day, the world was left with yet another senseless, shameful historical footnote, one additionally monstrous and grievously conceived, given the targeting of children. While working on the film, the producers unearthed disquieting, sometimes agonizing video footage shot by the terrorists with a camera taken from a hostage during the crisis. The aftermath of tensions among the terrorists is seen, when two women, encased en·case tr.v. en·cased, en·cas·ing, en·cas·es To enclose in or as if in a case. en·case ment n. in explosives,
apparently grew disillusioned dis·il·lu·sion tr.v. dis·il·lu·sioned, dis·il·lu·sion·ing, dis·il·lu·sions To free or deprive of illusion. n. 1. The act of disenchanting. 2. The condition or fact of being disenchanted. with the attack and either committed suicide or were murdered by the men. ``She blew up like a balloon full of blood,'' a witness says of one of the terrorists. As the film plunges toward its grim denouement de·noue·ment also dé·noue·ment n. 1. a. The final resolution or clarification of a dramatic or narrative plot. b. , disturbing details crop up with alarming frequency -- a freed girl, apparently confused, climbing back into the gymnasium and captivity. Interviewees offer bracing insights and memories that will be hard for viewers to shake. David Kronke, (818) 713-3638 david.kronke(at)dailynews.com THREE DAYS IN SEPTEMBER - Four stars What: Julia Roberts narrates this documentary about the September 2004 massacre at a school in a small Russian town. Where: Showtime. When: 8:30 tonight; 7:45 p.m. Monday on Showtime Too. In a nutshell: Wrenching. CAPTION(S): photo Photo: Julia Roberts narrates ``Three Days in September.'' Kevin Mazur/WireImage.com |
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