Camp X-Ray (2014)

A soldier assigned to Guantanamo Bay befriends a man who has been imprisoned there.

Director:

Peter Sattler

Writer:

Peter Sattler

Stars:

Kristen Stewart, Payman Maadi, Lane Garrison

6 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Nawal Bengholam	...	Newscaster
Payman Maadi	...	Ali
Lane Garrison	...	Ransdell
Joseph Julian Soria	...	Rico
Marwan Naji	...	Detainee #1 (as Mark Naji)
Anoop Simon	...	Detainee #2
Kristen Stewart	...	Cole
Cory Michael Smith	...	Bergen
Ser'Darius Blain	...	Jackson
Tara Holt	...	Mary
LaDell Preston	...	IRF #1
Daniel Leavitt	...	IRF #2
Marco Khan	...	Mahmoud
Julia Duffy	...	Cole's Mother
Robert Tarpinian	...	Detainee #3

Storyline

A young soldier escapes her suffocating small town by joining the military, only to find that she isn't going for a tour of duty in Iraq as she hoped. Instead, she's sent to Guantanamo. Met with hatred and abuse from the men in her charge, she forges an odd friendship with a young man who has been imprisoned at Gitmo for eight years.

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Plot Keywords:

guantanamo bay | female protagonist | unlikely friendship | covered in feces | reference to harry potter | 

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Taglines:

We are at war.

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Genres:

Drama | War

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for language and brief nude images

Details

Official Sites:

IFC Films [United States]

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

17 October 2014 (USA)

Also Known As:

Marcados Pela Guerra

Filming Locations:

Los Angeles, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$1,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$1,316, 19 October 2014

Gross USA:

$13,302

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$79,624

Company Credits

Production Co:

GNK Productions, Gotham Group, Rough House Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

117 min

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The director and some of the cast said that the abandoned Fred C. Nelles Correctional Facility, where they shot the prison scenes, is haunted and had a charged atmosphere.

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Goofs

Whilst all of the other guards on the cell shift watching the detainees check each and every room, including 109 and 110, Cole noticeably doesn't check those two rooms. This is visible on every rotation, and is so evident it's hard to believe it was overlooked. This is especially clear when the credits roll and the two new guards are shown looking in each cell, including 109 and 110.

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Quotes

Cole: [inscribed in library copy of DEATHLY HALLOWS] To Ali. I don't know if Snape's a good guy. But I know you are. Love, Blondie

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Connections

References The Silence of the Lambs (1991)

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Soundtracks

Raunchy
Written by William Justis and Sidney Manker
Performed by Bill Justis
Courtesy of K-Tel Music Inc.

User Reviews

Takes everything you think you know, stirs it up and throws it back at you to figure out.

Camp X-Ray is one of those films that doesn't quite leave you after the credits roll. It wasn't what I was expecting and I was surprised the film didn't revolve around politics. The cinematography, the soundtrack, including the constant hum in the background all formed a very real atmosphere. Visually, Camp X-Ray is impressive, but the real essence of the film does lie in the characters. The acting is some of the best I've seen.

80% of the film takes place on opposite sides of a cell door. We catch a small glimpse through a small glass window, and yet this is enough to feel the chemistry between Peyman Moaadi and Kristen Stewart. I can't even begin to imagine the difficulty at capturing what they did through a window, but it appears effortless.

The characters are incredibly fleshed out and there are some small hints of this, such as a glimpse of Cole wearing socks with sandals. A personality statement in itself. It's all about the small things!

I do think a big part of why this film affected me so much is because of my age. I saw parts of Cole in myself.

She wants to make a difference, she's seeking a way to push herself and the army is a straight forward way of doing that. It pushes your limits, it goes against what women should really do, and by doing that you're trying to prove something within yourself. You're tougher and braver than you appear. Yet put in this situation, things aren't so straight forward or 'black and white' as she expresses. Life is so much more complicated, relationships develop, experiences happen that throw you off course.

Then there's the added uncertainty of everything, the frustration of not knowing, wondering whether this is right? Whether this is what you want to do? Whether it's okay to speak to this guy? Questioning what you have always been taught is right and wrong.

I do feel that a lot of films tend to portray women as tough, fearless and almost masculine, but underneath the tough front, I think we all really are vulnerable. There's no escaping that. It's easy to act like things are okay, to put on a tough front, to hide, but there's still always going to be that vulnerability...maybe it goes as you get older, I don't know.

In the end she discovers her way own way of making a difference, in a way that at the beginning of the film would have been unimaginable, and it just shows how much can change, how little we know, and how important it is to keep an open mind.

Overall, I was surprised. It wasn't the film I expected, but much, much more. You'll feel every emotion imaginable. It's the kind of film that takes everything you know, or think you know, stirs it all up and throws it back at you to figure out.

Everything about this film is commendable.