Film: The Road to Guantanamo

[SA]

Film: The Road To Guantanamo

The Road To Guantanamo (2006)

http://www.roadtoguantanamomovie.com/

THE ROAD TO GUANTANAMO is the story of four friends who set off from the Midlands in September 2001 for an innocent wedding and holiday in Pakistan. Two and a half years later, only three of them returned home. Through their epic journey we hear the story of their misunderstandings, ignorance, confusions and friendships as step by step they go from the safety of their small-town teenage existence to the heart of the ‘war on terror’. Through a series of interviews, dramatised scenes and archive news footage, the film shows how the Tipton Three ended up in Afghanistan hiding with Taliban fighters under fire from US Fighter planes. The boys are eventually rounded up by American forces, only to be kept in horrific conditions at Guantanamo Bay in Cuba for over two years. (Amazon-UK)

More than 750 people have been imprisoned in Guantanamo. It is estimated that 500 are still there. Only ten have ever been charged. None have ever been found guilty of any crime.

First ten minutes can be previewed here.


Has anyone else seen this pseudo-documentary? I'll post my comments later.

 

[SA]

I promised some comments.

We had a bit of a banter about this over coffee today, where I was introduced to a couple of different opinions. One of the opinions offered was that it was hard to believe that the boys were so naive that they got themselves that deep into Afghanistan and hence into trouble. Surely there must have been more to the story. I had to take a moment and reflect on my own "boyhood". I won't inject my own boyscapades into this post, but, suffice it to say, the thought can be summed up in that old adage - boys will be boys.

The acting wasn't great here, terrible at times, but I don't think that mattered much. The main emphasis in this pseudo-documentary was, in my opinion, on its documentary components, not on the pseudo ones. The story carried well; no part felt stretched or boring.

"More leftist propaganda" was one of the opinions submitted at the table. I didn't feel so. Some of the acting could have seemed forced enough to appear that way, but that's bad acting, not political agenda. In any event, this film can be seen as biased simply due to its subject matter, no opinions required.

[possible spoiler follows]
--> The only thing which I did not find credible in this film is the boys' fearless endurance once in captivity. I have no doubt that they wanted to be portrayed as valiant as possible in this project, but I think the director overdid it a bit in that department. <-- [/end possible spoiler]


I wouldn't go so far as to recommend people rush out and grab the first available copy of this work at whatever price available, but it is worth a watch. No doubt most, if not all, will know the facts behind Gitmo and will not need to be educated in that regard. The story of the Tipton Three does, however, bring those facts to the screen in such a manner that one is neither bored by, nor dismissive of the presentation. At least that's how I saw it (pun?).

 

[Banquo]

geraten der film %)

 

[SardonicNihilist]

Why do you keep referring to it as a 'pseudo-documentary'? Is it the 'based on a true story' style narrative of what happened to a bunch of people, or a factual documentary with facts and figures sprinkled with re-enacted scenes? Are they based on real people, or completely fictional characters?

I've never heard of the Tipton Three, but the cases of David Hicks and Mamdouh Habib spring to mind.

 

[SA]

Why do you keep referring to it as a 'pseudo-documentary'? Is it the 'based on a true story' style narrative of what happened to a bunch of people, or a factual documentary with facts and figures sprinkled with re-enacted scenes? Are they based on real people, or completely fictional characters?

It is based on real people, real events and is shown both through re-enactment and using actual footage. Combined with the narrative, it gives the feel of a documentary, which is then interrupted by the feel of a film when re-enactments are shown.

I've never heard of the Tipton Three, but the cases of David Hicks and Mamdouh Habib spring to mind.

Hicks was charged, wasn't he?

You can brush up on the Tipton three here.