America loves building the narrative that "we" are the heroes, and that everyone else aspires to be like the West.
Nowhere in this mindset do those patriotic individuals consider that other people may be aggrieved by how they have been treated over the years, particularly by a country that paints everyone else as the enemy.
"The Mauritanian" is embarrassing watching for a nation that paints itself as protector of the free - a statement that, from a neutral perspective, is completely misguided. I would say that this story shocks me, but by now, I have no doubts of the depths the USA have sunk to.
Following the detainment and subsequent interrogation of a man implicated in recruitment for the 9/11 attacks, "The Mauritanian" looks at both the prosecution and the defense, fixating on the lengths the US have gone to silencing such a fugitive.
This is a film that is more about the story than the players, so the acting was only required to make the narrative believable. Jodie Foster and Tahar Rahim are both decent, but Benedict Cumberbatch felt surplus to requirement (given he didn't look like his character or have any unique qualities to justify his selection above an American).
Set-wise, Cape Town was transformed to represent Guantanamo, doing a good job of creating a stark contrast between the hostility of the prison against the rolling sea only metres away. I enjoyed the repetitive, claustrophobic soundtrack as well (clearly added to contribute to the tension), but still felt the hard-hitting stuff should have taken up a larger portion of the film.
"The Mauritanian" is adapted from a bestselling biography, and it's not hard to imagine why - this story is as harrowing as it is damning.
What vexed me most was the news that accompanies the credits: that there are almost 800 people who experienced the same abysmal treatment, some of which are still having their human rights violated by a country that holds everyone else to higher standards than it does its own patrons.
Nowhere in this mindset do those patriotic individuals consider that other people may be aggrieved by how they have been treated over the years, particularly by a country that paints everyone else as the enemy.
"The Mauritanian" is embarrassing watching for a nation that paints itself as protector of the free - a statement that, from a neutral perspective, is completely misguided. I would say that this story shocks me, but by now, I have no doubts of the depths the USA have sunk to.
Following the detainment and subsequent interrogation of a man implicated in recruitment for the 9/11 attacks, "The Mauritanian" looks at both the prosecution and the defense, fixating on the lengths the US have gone to silencing such a fugitive.
This is a film that is more about the story than the players, so the acting was only required to make the narrative believable. Jodie Foster and Tahar Rahim are both decent, but Benedict Cumberbatch felt surplus to requirement (given he didn't look like his character or have any unique qualities to justify his selection above an American).
Set-wise, Cape Town was transformed to represent Guantanamo, doing a good job of creating a stark contrast between the hostility of the prison against the rolling sea only metres away. I enjoyed the repetitive, claustrophobic soundtrack as well (clearly added to contribute to the tension), but still felt the hard-hitting stuff should have taken up a larger portion of the film.
"The Mauritanian" is adapted from a bestselling biography, and it's not hard to imagine why - this story is as harrowing as it is damning.
What vexed me most was the news that accompanies the credits: that there are almost 800 people who experienced the same abysmal treatment, some of which are still having their human rights violated by a country that holds everyone else to higher standards than it does its own patrons.