Through the lens of the upcoming ABC miniseries "The Path to 9/11," Americans can begin to see how history will be written about the fateful day. The history lesson, conveyed in an easy-to-absorb TV package, translates well to everyday people and is free of spin — for the most part.

Harvey Keitel is great as the serious FBI agent John O'Neill, and Donnie Wahlberg is believable as "Kirk," an undercover CIA operative. The cast list is huge as it spans many intergovernmental agencies, but the amount of information covered is even larger. Considering the amount of historical information, the attention to technical and factual detail the film involves is a daunting endeavor. As it should, the film takes itself completely seriously.

Though the history goes back further, the film begins in 1993 and takes five cinematic hours (including limited commercial time) to unfold to the day of the terrorist attacks.

Unusual in its format, the high-art, big-budget miniseries is too long for the big screen, and too long for one night of television. The miniseries is deserving of a better classification than "made-for-TV movie" because of the high level of artistic quality.

Most of the film is shot using handheld cameras that are often shaky and purposefully out of focus to give the film a documentary feel. The tricks of the cameras may confuse the constructed reality with the actuality of the events, but a disclaimer runs before the miniseries stating that some events are dramatized. Nevertheless, it is easy to forget that there is no way to know the actual conversations between many of the characters and even harder to represent every person involved.

This is apparent through the focus on an accurate portrayal, including language usage. Many of the scenes include subtitles for the language being spoken, which can have a polarizing effect on viewers. The film is careful to illustrate differences between different countries and avoids portraying vague "us" versus "them" scenarios.

Despite the fact that many of the actors are plucked from fictionalized high-intensity dramas such as "24," the only sentimental dramatizations seen are usually obvious. Moments meant to tug at your heartstrings include using innocent pregnant women, animals and children as victims in different situations, though the film is surprisingly void of any love plot.

Another snag the miniseries falls into is regurgitating the made-for-TV sound bites on which politicians, media and terrorists rely. The statements are given at face value without examination and little contextualization. They are used to show the warring factions' different ideas on a higher being and the purposes a leader should serve.

One can't tell that the story is based on the best-selling book "9/11 Commission Report" until the end, where the commission's derisive ruling is shown. This also lends some validity to the series, as the chair of the commission, former New Jersey Gov. Thomas H. Kean, was the senior consultant on the miniseries. In a press release, he said his hopes for the film are to help "get the Commission's recommendations implemented."

The emphasis on historical truth in this film separates it from more human interest-oriented films such as "Flight 93" or "World Trade Center." However, the examination of the terrorist attacks from these different angles hints at the complexity of the events, and each interpretive retelling can only help to paint a bigger, clearer picture.

The Verdict: ***