Taxi to the Dark Side (2007)

An in-depth look at the torture practices of the United States in Afghanistan, Iraq and Guantanamo Bay, focusing on an innocent taxi driver in Afghanistan who was tortured and killed in 2002.

Director:

Alex Gibney

Writer:

Alex Gibney

Stars:

Alex Gibney, Brian Keith Allen, Moazzam Begg

Won 1 Oscar. Another 9 wins & 3 nominations.

Cast

Credited cast:
Alex Gibney	...	Narrator (voice)
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Brian Keith Allen	...	Soldier - New York studio shoot reenactment
Moazzam Begg	...	Himself - Torture Victim (as Moazzam Beg)
Christopher Beiring	...	Himself - Captain
Willie Brand	...	Himself - Military Police
George W. Bush	...	Himself (archive footage)
Jack Cafferty	...	Himself (archive footage)
Brian Cammack	...	Himself - Military Police
William Cassara	...	Himself - Attorney
Doug Cassel	...	Himself - Professor
Dick Cheney	...	Himself (archive footage)
Jack Cloonan	...	Himself - Former FBI Agent
Damien Corsetti	...	Himself - Military Interrogator
Thomas Curtis	...	Himself - Sergeant: Military Police
Greg D'Agostino	...	Soldier - New York studio shoot reenactment

Storyline

Using the torture and death in 2002 of an innocent Afghan taxi driver as the touchstone, this film examines changes after 9/11 in U.S. policy toward suspects in the war on terror. Soldiers, their attorneys, one released detainee, U.S. Attorney John Yoo, news footage and photos tell a story of abuse at Bagram Air Base, Abu Ghraib, and Guantanamo Bay. From Bush, Cheney, Rumsfeld, and Gonzalez came unwritten orders to use any means necessary. The CIA and soldiers with little training used sleep deprivation, sexual assault, stress positions, waterboarding, dogs and other terror tactics to seek information from detainees. Many speakers lament the loss of American ideals in pursuit of security.

---

Plot Keywords:

detainee | afghanistan | guantanamo bay | torture | taxi | 

---

Taglines:

In 2002, a young cab driver picked up a few passengers near his home in Afghanistan... He never returned.

---

Genres:

Documentary | Crime | War

---

Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for disturbing images, and content involving torture and graphic nudity

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

23 January 2009 (Brazil)

Also Known As:

Pros ti skoteini meria tis dimokratias

Filming Locations:

Yakubi, Afghanistan

Box Office

Budget:

$1,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

$13,656 (USA) (18 January 2008)

Gross:

$274,661 (USA) (30 May 2008)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Discovery Channel, Jigsaw Productions, Tall Woods

Technical Specs

Runtime:

106 min 53 min (TV)

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Connections

Features The Situation Room (2005)

User Reviews

Blood from a Turnip

Yep, it is another one of those Iraq and Afghanistan documentaries. I know the burnout rate is high on these, which is probably why I almost did not bother, but nothing else was showing. Man, was I happy I saw this! It has rekindled my hate for the Bush administration, which had turned to apathy over the last year. This tells the story of an Afghani taxi driver that is mistakenly picked up as a Taliban supporter, but before they find out he was innocent, he has been beaten to death by his American torturers.

This film has interviews from all of the guards that were responsible, JAG officers, FBI people, CIA agents on the ground etc. And you see that all of the blame lies with Ashcroft and the Bushies, who gave one vague order after another that they wanted confessions and they wanted them quickly, with a wink and a nod about what kind of methods to use. So you have these frustrated high school drop-outs presiding over these people thousands of miles from anywhere, and they won't confess. So, beatings and humiliations follow. And when the crap comes out, the Bush administration passes a bill that absolves all higher-ups from any responsibility and they start to bust the enlisted men and women, who were following orders. Pathetic. Of course, we also find out that over 95% of the prisoners being held, were captured by Pakistanis and Northern Alliance people, WHO were paid by the US government for each person they turned over, guilty or not guilty. And you wonder why meaningful confessions were so hard to come by. It reminds me of the scene from Full Metal Jacket, where the psycho army guy shoots the Vietnamese farmers from his helicopter. He says the ones that run are VC, the ones that don't run are well trained VC. Very tragic.