The Road to Guantanamo

The Road to Guantanamo ***

"The Road to Guantanamo" is dank, disturbing, and really makes you think about the way we Americans handle certain things. It could also be one of the most talked about films in years, and full debates could be brought upon by the morals and ethics that it presents, or in this case, lack of.

Part documentary, and part drama, "The Road to Guantanamo" tells the story of four Pakistani friends from England, who in September of 2001 go on a trip to Pakistan for a friend's wedding. On the way there, they end up getting arrested by the United States military, and are accused of having close connections and ties to Al Qaeda. They are innocent. We know this. They are good people. We know this also. They aren't plotting out ways to kill Americans, or praising videos of Osama bin Ladin. No. They like to hang out with one another. They enjoy talking around a table, and eating pizza. And over the course of the next two years, they are imprisoned. They cannot talk to one another. They can't stand up. They are yelled at constantly. They are asked the same questions over and over again, until they are sick of it. And they are tortured. When they refuse to cooperate, they are all placed in solitary confinement, where they are shackled to the ground with chains, and have to face the ground. And then, eventually, over time, it becomes apparant to the government that they are innocent, and they are released, even though they will obviously never be the same.

All of this is told in three ways. The first way is actual interviews with the people that were involved. As they tell their story, it is incutted with a dramatization of the events, with actors taking care of the action. And lastly, there is actual news footage of events that happened at the time. Videos of riots, and news reports, etc. But, no matter which method is going on, "The Road to Guantanamo" is a sad film. Not only in the events that occur within it, but the idea that this stuff actually goes on. It really puts in perspective some of the things that could be going on oversees. There is a clip of President George Bush saying "These folks are Guantanamo are killers. . .. they don't share the same values you and I share," but in this case, these men weren't killers at all. All they wanted to do was celebrate their friends marriage, and they were in the wrong place at the wrong time. Did fate bring them there? Were they really meant to be in those camps for some divine reason? But that's a whole other debate.

I really have to applaud director Michael Winterbottom. I don't always like his work, but at least he's always trying something different. If it's a sci-fi film, or an experiment with sex and music, or a comedy about classic literature, it's always a different genre. He doesn't stay on one genre, and it is always fresh and exciting when he has something new coming out. I really wonder what's next.

It does have it's flaws, but "The Road to Guantanamo" is an important film. It's something to consider, to watch, to let sink in, and then to talk about. It might be a little partial at times, and biased, but the debate is there, on the outskirts, and the issue could still be talked about. Hell, it should be talked about. What will we do to people in order to protect ourselves?