Even though these guys are a little rough around the edges, some central part of them recognizes the need to acknowledge a higher power on such occasions. Each time a major event occurs-birth, wedding or death-it’s off to the cathedral. “Let’s do it for Johnny!” It is unfortunate that a film that deals so blatantly with issues of life and death does not allow the discussion to get beyond such locker room rhetoric or reassuring platitudes uttered to a child before bedtime.įaith: Apart from Raising Helen, which features a priest as one of its main characters, I don’t think I’ve been to church so many times in one movie. It’s back on the truck and out to the next call. And if one of their teammates doesn’t make it out, well, that’s the way it goes in this business. And if they run into a burning building, they will do their utmost to make sure that every last member of the team makes it back out. Therefore, he and his crew will do their best to save everyone they can. Jack wrestles with this question throughout the film, but the only real answer he seems to come up with is that any loss of human life is tragic. But what if his children lose their father in the process? How do you balance the value of the two lives-the firefighter’s and the victim’s-in their eyes? Can you be an effective firefighter and a family man? At what point does your obligation to one role begin to militate against the other? Sure, you’re doing it to save other people, as our hero Jack Morrison (Joaquin Phoenix) often tells his children. When you are young and single, dashing into a burning building is a rush, “drama in real life.” But as this film’s ten-year timeline illustrates, when a spouse and children enter the picture, suddenly, things become more complicated. But in the world of firefighting-or any career that has the potential to place your life in jeopardy-this conflict is intensified, often to the breaking point. Once again, there is a strong sense of kinship at work here that makes the viewer long for that sort of thing if he or she hasn’t experienced it already.Įveryone struggles to find a balance between career and family. And those who aren’t married become like an extended network of uncles and older brothers to those that are.
Virtually all of the firefighters are portrayed as working class men who enjoy nothing more than a backyard birthday barbecue with their wives and kids. This is community as it should be.įamily:Ladder 49 is also a strong affirmation of family.
But when the next call comes, all conflicts are cast aside in favor of creating a unified front against their common foe. Differences come up, and resolving them is rarely pretty. In this group, nothing can remain hidden for long. They love hard, fight hard, work hard, and play hard. This is a true family, a band of brothers. Here, we get to see the other side of these men as they laugh, learn, grieve, and ponder the significance of what they do. But back at the firehouse, it’s a different story. Situations come up, and the firemen react. While out on a call, there is not much time for philosophizing. Surprisingly, even John Travolta does not seem out of place as the firehouse captain. The fires blaze with authenticity, the acting never fails to convince, and the situations the firemen encounter feel adequately realistic. During such scenes, Ladder 49 is like a fire hose stretched taut with water: Everything is functioning exactly as it should. They charge into flaming infernos, rescue helpless victims, and generally play the hero. With the embers of grief from 9/11 still smoldering, how could it do anything but? Consequently, it features numerous scenes of firemen dropping everything and dashing out to answer the next call. While these dilemmas are not always resolved, they do lead to some interesting reflections on all three topics.įirefighting:Ladder 49 is a film that celebrates firefighting as a profession and firefighters as people. Every so often, one of them rises to the surface to raise a question about which is most important and how each value can be pursued without sacrificing the other two.
Explore faith : Focus on Film - Ladder 49ġ05 minutes (PG-13 rating for intense fire and rescue situations and language)įaith, family, and firefighting-these are the core values that bubble and surge constantly at the heart of this film.
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