The War Within (2005)

A Pakistani involved in a planned attack in New York City experiences a crisis of conscience.

Director:

Joseph Castelo

Writers:

Ayad Akhtar, Joseph Castelo,

Stars:

Ayad Akhtar, Firdous Bamji, Nandana Sen

6 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Ayad Akhtar	...	Hassan
Firdous Bamji	...	Sayeed Choudhury
Nandana Sen	...	Duri Choudhury
Sarita Choudhury	...	Farida S. Choudhury
Charles Daniel Sandoval	...	Khalid
Varun Sriram	...	Ali S. Choudhury
Anjeli Chapman	...	Rasheeda S. Choudhury
John Ventimiglia	...	Gabe
Michael McGlone	...	Mike O'Reilly (as Mike McGlone)
Aasif Mandvi	...	Abdul
Ajay Naidu	...	Naved
Kamal Marayati	...	Imam
Wayman Ezell	...	Izzy
James Rana	...	Saudi Man
Christopher Castelo	...	Steven

Storyline

Sayeed Choudhury was born Pakistan but has immigrated to the U.S.A., where he now lives in New York with his wife, Farida; a school-going daughter, Rasheeda; a school-going son, Ali; and unmarried sister, Duri. One morning Farida hears a knock on the door, Ali opens it and there is Sayeed's childhood friend, Hassan, who is welcomed with open arms by the family. Hassan informs them that he is going to be hired soon in the States and he is invited to spend a few days with the Choudhury family. Duri, who has a Caucasian boyfriend, Mike, is also thrilled to meet Hassan and openly shows her attraction to him. Ali also takes an instant liking to Hassan, and is taught the true values of Islam, and when one Muslim hurts, then the pain is felt by Muslims worldwide. Sayeed is quite content with the American way of life and feels secure and comfortable especially when he sees Germans, Jews, Muslims, Catholics, and non-believers living in harmony and doing business with each other. Sayeed will ...

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Plot Keywords:

muslim | islam | pakistani | criminal plot | terrorism | 

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Genres:

Drama

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for violent images, some language and nudity

Details

Official Sites:

Official site

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

30 September 2005 (USA)

Also Known As:

Over the Mountains

Box Office

Opening Weekend:

$7,540 (USA) (30 September 2005)

Gross:

$73,789 (USA) (28 October 2005)

Company Credits

Production Co:

HDNet Films, Coalition Films, 2929 Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

90 min 90 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Did You Know?

Connections

Featured in 2006 Independent Spirit Awards (2006)

User Reviews

see this film

I think this is a very important film to be coming from these talented young filmmakers from the United States. It intelligently and gracefully opens up an essential and pressing debate in our culture about the origins of present terrorism. See this film and engage in the process of trying to understand what seems impossible to understand. It brings the debate home into our streets and lives unlike anything Ihave seen yet. As a film in aesthetic terms, it is very strong. The performances are nuanced and at times powerful. And the story is an essential one to see, to think about, to grapple with. Whether you accept the propositions of the film or not, the timeliness and the willingness to deal with the big themes of our day is indisputable.