I saw this docudrama at SilverDocs and thought it gave an intriguing, if brutal and chilling, look into the detentions at Guantanamo Bay. The movie chronicles the stories of four men who go to attend a wedding in Pakistan in September of 2001. They end up, for reasons that in my view remain unclear, going to Afghanistan where they are caught in the crossfire between the Taliban and Northern Alliance forces. They are arrested and the film shows their treatment at the hands of first Northern Alliance and later American forces.
The format of the movie is a historical recreation interspersed with interviews with three of the men profiled. While this allows a view into their lives from their perspective, the film suffers from the lack of any alternative point-of-view. As far as I am able to determine, there was no effort to interview or document any person who might contradict their account. Whether that's because no such person exists or whether it is because the filmmakers did not look for such people is unclear.
The brutal treatment of the men while they are in custody is shocking, but tends to become almost mundane by the end of the movie. The constant shouting, beating, and questioning becomes almost boring despite its brutality. This may be an intentional effect by the filmmakers to illustrate the repetitive nature of the detentions at Guantanamo.
Overall, the movie provides an interesting, if one-sided, view of the treatment of prisoners following the United States' invasion of Afghanistan.
The format of the movie is a historical recreation interspersed with interviews with three of the men profiled. While this allows a view into their lives from their perspective, the film suffers from the lack of any alternative point-of-view. As far as I am able to determine, there was no effort to interview or document any person who might contradict their account. Whether that's because no such person exists or whether it is because the filmmakers did not look for such people is unclear.
The brutal treatment of the men while they are in custody is shocking, but tends to become almost mundane by the end of the movie. The constant shouting, beating, and questioning becomes almost boring despite its brutality. This may be an intentional effect by the filmmakers to illustrate the repetitive nature of the detentions at Guantanamo.
Overall, the movie provides an interesting, if one-sided, view of the treatment of prisoners following the United States' invasion of Afghanistan.