Infinite Justice (2006/I)

User Rating:

6.8/10   

Director:

Jamil Dehlavi

Writer:

Jamil Dehlavi (writer)

Release Date:

30 November 2007 (UK)

Genre:

Drama | Thriller

Tagline:

With every battle that you win, you make another enemy

Plot:

An American reporter is held hostage by Muslim fundamentalists in Karachi against the release of prisoners in Guantanamo Bay. |

Awards:

2 wins

Cast

Kevin Collins	...	Arnold Silverman
Raza Jaffrey	...	Kamal Khan
Jennifer Calvert	...	Sarah
Constantine Gregory	...	Abe Kautsky
Irvine Iqbal	...	Waqar Islam
Jeff Mirza	...	Inspector Akhtar
William Roberts	...	Walensky
Liza Zapol	...	Gail
Mitchell Mullen	...	Kass
Graham Bohea	...	Rob
Youssef Kerkour	...	Drunk G.I.
Serge Soric	...	Caffe Propreitor
Ivana Basic	...	Salima
Shekhar Bassi	...	Pakistani Policeman
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Roy Sampson	...	Headmaster
Renu Setna	...	Masood

Runtime:

Germany:93 min (European Film Market)

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Certification:

UK:15 | Australia:MA (2008) | New Zealand:R16

Filming Locations:

New York, USA

Company:

Dehlavi Films

A must-see political thriller!

I saw this film at the Houston WorldFest where it won the Special Jury prize and found it to be one of the best movies made in the wake of September 11th. A gritty portrayal of the kidnapping of an American journalist by Islamic fundamentalists in Pakistan, it seems to be inspired by the story of Daniel Pearl, which makes it riveting viewing.

Dehlavi doesn't fall into the traps others have: he eschews sentimentality, refusing to romanticize the victims of Islamic terror, instead portraying his hero, (here called Arnold Silverman) as an essentially good man flawed with an almost hubristic idealism and persistance which leads him further into the terrorists' labyrinth...a comment perhaps on post 9-11 American foreign policy. Dehlavi's portrayal of the well-educated but murderous British-born Islamist terrorists seems prophetic because the film was made before the London Tube bombings. It's a lesson on the birth of Islamic fundamentalism in Britain, following two young British-Pakistanis from English boarding school to Kosovo to Pakistan, where Silverman finally encounters them.

All the elements come together. From the first shocking images to the last, with impressive scenes in between, the film holds your attention. Excellent, painterly cinematography and first rate acting by the leads, Kevin Collins and Raza Jaffrey. This is a film that should be seen as much for the story as for its message of hope and its justified criticisms of political intransigence in the West and within Islam.