Rendition (2007)

After a terrorist bombing kills an American envoy in a foreign country, an investigation leads to an Egyptian who has been living in the United States for years and who is married to an ... See full summary »

Director:

Gavin Hood

Writer:

Kelley Sane

Stars:

Reese Witherspoon, Jake Gyllenhaal, Peter Sarsgaard

1 win & 2 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Jake Gyllenhaal	...	Douglas Freeman
Reese Witherspoon	...	Isabella Fields El-Ibrahimi
Meryl Streep	...	Corrine Whitman
Alan Arkin	...	Senator Hawkins
Peter Sarsgaard	...	Alan Smith
Omar Metwally	...	Anwar El-Ibrahimi
Igal Naor	...	Abasi Fawal
Hadar Ratzon Rotem	...	Safiya (as Hadar Ratzon)
J.K. Simmons	...	Lee Mayer
Simon Abkarian	...	Said Abdel Aziz
Moa Khouas	...	Khalid El-Emin
Zineb Oukach	...	Fatima Fawal
Aramis Knight	...	Jeremy El-Ibrahimi
Rosie Malek-Yonan	...	Nuru El-Ibrahimi
Laila Mrabti	...	Lina Fawal

Storyline

After a terrorist bombing kills an American envoy in a foreign country, an investigation leads to an Egyptian who has been living in the United States for years and who is married to an American. He is apprehended when he's on his way home. The U.S. sends him to the country where the incident occurs for interrogation, which includes torture. An American C.I.A. operative observes the interrogation and is at odds whether to keep it going or to stop it. In the meantime, the man's wife raises hell to find him, but the person behind this refuses to help or give her any information.

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Plot Keywords:

bare chested male bondage | cape town south africa | watching television | american | interrogation | 

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Taglines:

You don't get to torture without rendition.

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Genres:

Drama | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for torture/violence and language

Details

Official Sites:

Warner Bros. [Germany]

Country:

USA

Language:

English Arabic

Release Date:

19 October 2007 (USA)

Also Known As:

Détention secrète

Filming Locations:

Morocco

Box Office

Budget:

$27,500,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$4,060,012, 21 October 2007, Wide Release

Gross USA:

$9,736,045, 15 November 2007

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$27,038,732

Company Credits

Production Co:

Anonymous Content,Level 1 Entertainment,MID Foundation

Technical Specs

Runtime:

122 min

Sound Mix:

DTS SDDS Dolby Digital

Color:

Color (DeLuxe)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The movie never confirms whether the renditioned individual is innocent, or wrongly accused, or a terrorist, or correctly discovered as one. One theory the filmmakers suggested is that he was not a terrorist, but was set up by a terrorist cell who put his information on a cell phone that they knew would be discovered by the C.I.A. and lead them to the wrong guy while they got away scott-free.

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Goofs

In the initial interrogation where Anwar is being questioned by Lee Mayer, the right side of Anwar's shirt collar shifts from being on top of the lapel of his sport coat to underneath it, and back, several times.

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Quotes

Corrine Whitman: I'm very sorry for your distress, I wish I could help you with your problem but I simply cannot.
Isabella Fields El-Ibrahimi: My problem? My problem?
Senator Hawkins: [overlapping] Young lady, if you just leave your name and information ...
Isabella Fields El-Ibrahimi: You have my name. You have my home address, you have my phone number, you have everything! You have my husband!
[they look at each other and begin to leave]
Isabella Fields El-Ibrahimi: Please don't walk away from me! Just tell me where he is!
Guard: [restraining her] Ma'am.
Isabella Fields El-Ibrahimi: JUST TELL ME HE'S OKAY!

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Connections

Featured in Getaway: Episode #17.3 (2008)

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Soundtracks

Akli Fiha
Written by Belgot Mohammed Tarik
Performed by Cheb Tarik
Courtesy of La Fa Mi Productions
By Arrangement with The Orchard

User Reviews

is it ever, ever right to torture an individual

I saw the movie yesterday and was shocked by it, but even more shocked by some of the comments I have read here. One person wrote that it was ambiguous if the victim of the torture was guilty or not--therefore... One person wrote that since he wasn't an American citizen, therefore... Some people comment that the people in the Middle East hate us and want us dead, therefore... So are we saying then that it is right to torture someone who is guilty of a crime? Are we saying it is right to torture someone who is not an American Citizen? Are we saying that it is right to torture someone who may hate us and want us dead? Are we saying that, as is written in the Geneva Convention, the Declaration of Human Rights and the Constitution of the United States that "torture is wrong, but some torture is less wrong than others?" When does it become "right" to torture? THAT is why this movie is powerful-- it is ambiguous, but not about torture. Torture is always wrong, and if we are willing to do it, even in the name of justice and "National Security" or "freedom and democracy" then we are wrong and we are evil; we are doing exactly what we are accusing our enemies of doing (and we are calling them "wrong" in the same breath.) My favorite line in the film was "if you don't want to compromise join Amnesty International." Right on.