Five years after the Sept. 11 hijackings questions remain about how the events of that day actually transpired.

There have been documentaries and dramatizations alike that have probed the reasons for and responses to what occurred, but a new film by British director Paul Greengrass goes into touchy territory. In the film, he follows the crew and passengers on United flight 93, which crashed in a field outside of Shanksville, Pa. when passengers overtook their hijackers.

“United 93” attempts to follow – in real-time – the events as they happened: from the Federal Aviation Administration and military flight coordinators, to the air traffic controllers, and most poignantly the passengers, crew and hijackers. The depictions of the events are emotional. Greengrass avoided using big-time stars and shot the film in documentary style with sometimes shaky handheld filming.

Greengrass claims his film “tells the story of the day through the meticulous reenactment of events in the belief that by examining this single event something much larger can be found – the shape of our world today.” His film sparks some new questions and will no doubt prompt a new conversation about the tragedy.

But even though there were several calls made from the flight to loved ones, and there was a black box recording in the cockpit, much of what occurred during the 90-minute flight remains unknown.

The challenge with portraying such charged events is that once the events are surmised on film, whether or not they are entirely factual, the film becomes a part of our collective memory. That is a heavy responsibility.

The film is an attempt to understand what happened and is important in creating dialogue about how our world has changed. But “United 93” comes dangerously close to being exploitative and voyeuristic in a culture already obsessed with reality television. Even though we have new dialogue, what impact will it have on our behavior?

Our country is at war in Iraq yet we keep driving in record numbers. Our representatives threaten to punish illegal immigrants yet we keep shopping and eating. Five years after the attacks and all we’ve managed to do is find more ways to protect our stuff and take more than we need.

Oliver Stone, one of President Bush’s most vocal critics, is currently in post-production of his film “World Trade Center” starring Nicolas Cage as Port Authority police officer John McLoughlin, who was one of the last survivors pulled from the rubble of the downed buildings. Now that Hollywood’s heavy hitters have entered the post-9/11 film bandwagon, what can we expect to see next? What special effects and acting talent can live up to a tragedy of that magnitude? Are people ready to be deluged with more made-for-TV movies about terrorism and fear?

We have a long way to go in fully understanding the events and aftermath of Sept. 11 and maybe these films can help us to better understand what happened. Just remember that entertainment and reality don’t always see eye to eye.