The film doesn’t replay the well-known but still shocking footage of airplanes flying directly into the World Trade Center’s Twin Towers and exploding, nor of the collapse of the massive buildings, nor of the carnage that was exposed and cleaned up during the ensuing months.

Instead, Whitaker guides us to reflect upon the effects of that tragic day — and, for that matter, of any such overwhelming and tragic incident — by following his subjects as they struggle to come to grips with their losses and learn to move on. Rebirth is about healing.