The Prisoner or: How I Planned to Kill Tony Blair

The Prisoner or: How I Planned to Kill Tony Blair ***

Directed by Petra Epperlein and Michael Tucker

Starring:

Yunis Khatayer Abbas as Himself

72 Minutes(Rated PG-13 for some strong language and mature thematic elements.)

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I will admit that when it comes to documentaries, it is the last genre that I will go and see, especially in a theatre. The thing is is that most documentaries, while fascinating and interesting, are never really worthwhile of seeing on a big screen with a lot of people. A documentary is usually worthy of watching at home, on a small screen where a lot of money wasn't spent. It isn't like "300" which needs to be seen on a big screen to even be effective at all. But there was something about "The Prisoner or: How I Planned to Kill Tony Blair," (which will, from this point on, be referred to simply as "The Prisoner,") that made me want to take the time to see this on the big screen. It was just the premise, the concept of it. It had a "Road to Guantanamo" feel, telling the story of a person that did not deserve to be treated the way he did. It is something about that story that just makes me want to get their perspective, for if I do decide to skip it in the theatres I will probably forget it exists long before the DVD comes out.

"The Prisoner" tells the story of Yunis Khatayer Abbas, who film makers Petra Epperlein and Michael Tucker met while they were filming their first documentary "Gunner Palace," (which I also saw in the theatre, oddly enough). Yunis Abbas was a journalist who lived in Baghdad. However one night his house was broken into by American soldiers who detained him and three of his brothers, sending him away to Abu Ghraib Prison where he was charged with plotting the assassination of Tony Blair. Cameraman Michael Tucker was off shooting "Gunner Palace" when this happened, and managed to get the ambush on camera which is where Yunis began to interest him. Of course this concept of wanting to kill Tony Blair is comical to Yunis-he never had any desire to kill him and he wasn't starting now. But so begins the long interview process, where the Americans ask him strange questions about his favorite color, his musical taste, favorite sex asks, and if he likes Harrison Ford. Yunis also manages to form a friendship with one of the guards, who he dubs "The Good Solider." "The Prisoner" weaves interviews with Yunis, camera footage, home movies, and original animation to tell the tale of this innocent and ordinary man who is forced into a nightmare that he does not deserve.

It is almost painful to watch parts of "The Prisoner." Yunis gets thrown into this horror story, accused of being a terrorist and a bad man just because of what he looked like and where he lived. But he is such a kind man, witty, and able to smile in the face of a terrible situation. To show what a kind person he is, when everything is finished and Yunis and his brothers are allowed to go home, the film ends with home movie footage of Yunis and his family dancing, smiling, and just being happy that they could all be together. It is both a tragic story and one full of hope that is worth watching. It ends up giving a new perspective of everything that happens over there-and reminds you that not everybody is bad just because of their ethnicity, skin color, or just where they live. Out of the documentaries out there, "The Prisoner" may be one of the only ones that I have seen, but it is probably the best one out there.