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Regular
Price $28.98
Starring:
Ayad Akhtar,
Firdous Bamji,
Nandana Sen,
Sarita Choudhury,
Charles Daniel Sandoval,
Directed By:
Joseph Castelo,
Rated: NR (Not Rated)
Release Date: 2005
Studio: Magnolia
Format:
Closed-captioned,
Color,
Dolby,
DVD-Video,
Subtitled,
Widescreen,
NTSC,
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Customer Reviews for
The War Within
not always the case
the point of this movie is to show the contrary perspective as to what motivates the terrorist - that he is captured, tortured by the military which makes him seek revenge and thus become a terrorist bent on destruction.
but are all terrorists only so because they too went through the same abuse? were the 9/11 terrorists too brutalized by the army and was theirs an act of revenge?
or do all people who have faced police brutality become terrorists who kill innocent civilians?
i'm from india and even as i write this, only two days back, synchronized bombings ripped through the "pink city" of jaipur killing hundreds. india has been facing such attacks and mindless religion inspired violence for the last 20 years and so excuse me if i am not convinced by this line of argument as presented by this film.The War Within
But what creates the terrorist?
In this film's fast paced opening scene you are shown the main character, Hassan, being kidnaped by Americans and tortured by Pakistanis. He befriends an Muslim man in his cell and then somehow ends up in a shipping crate in New Jersey where he returns to live with his friend Sayeed whom hasn't seen or heard from him for three years.
The remainder of the film is no longer broken in time and is easily followed as Hassan works with his terrorist cell to plan an attack on New York. As we viewed the movie we assumed that it would reveal "a war within" Hassan's heart and mind, that he would be torn by his commitment to terrorism and his opposing feelings towards his American friend and family that sheltered him in their home along with his hint of romantic feelings towards his friends sister.
There is much drama in this film especially towards the climatic final scene but there is very little revealed about the "war within" at least within Hassan's self. Two aspects of the film could have been changed to make it more powerful. One would have been to show what had happened to him after his kidnapping. How did he survive the torture? What did he do with his rage? Did he live in Pakistan? Who did he befriend there and what was it like, all very fascinating possiblities for this film. Also he never appeared to be ambivalent about his goal despite the perfect friendship and the temptation of a beautiful young woman. There was much here to work with and the result was at too many times a bit flat and too dark to illuminate many of the questions we have about men like Hassan.The War Within
What is a human being?
The War Within forced feelings on me that I would rather not have, but that I recognize as essential. The film's protagonist is a mild Pakistani engineer, kidnapped in error on a Paris street by the CIA, tortured, and radicalized by his baseless mistreatment. He comes out of imprisonment and torture a terrorist, a suicide bomber, assigned to wreak havoc in New York. His original innocence, and our collective guilt, does nothing in my eyes to lessen his loathesomeness. He is a traitor to everything I believe in, to trust, to honor, to self. He worships and obeys a pitiless, tyrant, monster god beyond my power to conceive or to wish to conceive. But he is presented, convincingly, as a human being, and that convincingness presents me with a very serious problem. It is not that I find him sympathetic. It is not that I find myself saying, "That could be me." I despise and reject him and all his works, and cannot conceive of myself following a path such as his. And yet, and yet...he is a man. He is a sane man, and by his own lights, a good man, a principled man. What I am to hope for if I am to recognize such a creature as a fellow human being? This film did not permit me, as films usually do, to write off the villain as a preening Nazi sadist or a bloody Mafia thug, one who has shed his humanity and become something less than an animal. No. This man is me. And yet he can not be me.
There is a suggestion, at the end of the film, that in response to 9/11, the United States has involved itself in an endless cycle of violence and injustice that is continuously creating exactly what it has learned to fear. I find, in the behavior of my government, some strong reasons to accept such a thesis, but nonetheless, I think it is wrong. I believe we must and will find another way. This film is a lesson to me in how exceedingly difficult it is not to enter into that hopeless cycle when confronted by an enemy to whom violence is virtue and self-destruction nobility.The War Within
Suprising
This movie is suprisingly well done for a low budget film. I urge you to get this movie; you will not be dissapointed.The War Within
When the friend is the enemy
Hassan (Ayad Akhtar) is a Pakistani engineer working in Paris. One day, he is accosted by persons unknown, thrown into a van and injected with a knock-out drug, He awakens in a Karachi prison cell, where he is tortured. Befriended by another prisoner, he converts (or reverts) to a radical branch of Islam and takes on a terror mission to New York City.
The particulars of the movie - the whys and hows of how terrorists could wreak havoc in the US -- are the least important aspect of this film. More important is the contrast between Muslims friends and families with ties to the old world and those who have made their homes in the US. The Americanized Muslims are making necessary accommodations to their new country. Their children are losing their native languages; they are no longer unquestioningly respectful of their parents. The parents, for their part, enjoy the wealth they are able to amass in their adopted homeland. They dabble with alcohol; rub shoulders with Christians and Jews; their sisters date white Americans.
The contrasts and connections between Hassan and old friends Sayeed and Duri are complex. As much as they appreciate Hassan's religious devotion, they are clearly uncomfortable with it. They are kept unaware of Hassan's personal suffering, so they do not completely comprehend the effect that Hassan's brother's death has on him. Neither do they realize that Hassan continues to pursue his original mission. How will they react if they learn of it?
One of the most poignant and telling scenes takes place when Hassan, learning the ropes in a limousine service, is taught the route to and from the airport. At one point, the car's driver points out the previous location of the Twin Towers. The driver's obviously rueful expression of loss is contrasted with that of Hassan. Expressing not the slightest bit emotion, Hassan conveys that he interprets the destruction of the towers quite differently.
This is a very solid movie that attempts to tackle many thorny issues about the post-9/11 world. Bad things happen to some people, who sometimes react with violence. Whether the violence is born of revenge or hatred or inner malice, it is used by still others for their own purposes. This person may inhabit the same space as friends and countrymen, but he is not of the same world. From this new perspective, events take on different and even hideous meanings that force action down certain narrow pathways to their inevitable conclusions.
"The War Within" offers no answers to this situation. It offers little in the way of analysis, and does not presume to make a statement about the cause of terrorism. It simply shows the trajectory of one man who is ripped from the inertial pull of his safe life and sent hurtling onto a path of destruction. A very interesting and well-made film, deliciously under-acted by the entire cast.The War Within
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