Camp X-Ray: Ghosts of Guantánamo Bay (2004) User Reviews

Irresponsible sensationalism wrapped up in a bad movie.

[socrates_note · 30 September 2004]

I sat watching this movie thinking from the very outset that I had made the wrong choice. You would hope that a film clearly shot on a tight budget would do the one professional courtesy of having a good solid story told through good acting if not passable acting but alas no. The dialogue, situations and acting were cringe worthy. This was clearly a movie made by people jumping on the bandwagon of the recent release of the British muslims and extrapulating a diatribe of dialogue and cliché. You can hear them saying it, 'C'mon lets make this movie now before the BBC, Channel 4 are going to make it into a T.V. drama'. Having seen this example of film-making I really wish that the T.V. Drama had been made. At least, they would have done their research and put all their efforts into making it a hard hitting statement which this film never even wakes up to be. There was no real message to this movie as the writer's sole purpose was to amplify what the audience might think went on at Camp X-ray. As a born and bred Bradford man, this movie was clearly shown here to create sensationalism and stir up furor amongst the Muslim community. One felt that the movie went out of its way to be Anti-American. Why? Publicity capital through more sensationalism. Irresponsible film-making no doubt so that the film gets a wider audience. If a wider audience was sought and is sought then the so called 'film makers' would have done better by making what could have been a good lo-budget watchable film. Very, very disappointing - Big Thumbs down!

Raw movie telling how it is in Guantanamo prison complex

[indymovienews-1 · 10/10 · 29 September 2004]

I caught the premiere of this movie at the Bite The Mango World Cinema Festival in Bradford, UK. There was a lot of hype leading up to the screening with newspapers stating that the film should not be shown as it was Anti-American and Anti-Muslim. This was not the case. The film was obviously shot on an extremely tight budget but it did not matter. The story was amazing and the way the so-called 'enemy combatants' were treated in Cuba's Camp Xray was brutal to say the least. The film has a strong anti-war message but I guess for the horrors of the 'war on terror' to be exposed the director had to show gut wrenching scenes to make his point. This is a very raw film without polish but that is why it works. The shock ending will leave you rooted to your seat. People in the audience didn't move and then when they did finally get up they were clearly thinking about what they had seen. Camp Xray will become a cult classic in time but it needs to be seen by a wider audience.