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The Road to Guantánamo

Review By: Stephen Snart
StephenSnart@TheCinemaSource.com

Immediate similarities can be seen between Michael Winterbottom’s latest film, The Road to Guantánamo and his 1999 tale of Afghani injustice, In this World. Both films are about the quest for freedom. In the case of In this World, the protagonist was a young Afghani refugee living in constant oppression who embarks on an epic journey to gain freedom in Great Britain. The Road to Guantánamo differs in that it is a tale about the loss of freedom and the struggle to regain that familiar way of life.

Like In this World, Guantánamo is shot in a style that blends documentary and fiction filmmaking. By incorporating real life interviews, news footage and reenactments filmed by Winterbottom and co-director Mat Whitecross, the film chronicles the true events of the “Tipton Three.”

In the wake of 9/11, American and British military forces began a pandemic attack on Middle Eastern countries in an impracticable attempt to unearth terrorists. As a by-product, hundreds of innocent people were held captive for extended periods of time in abysmal living situations while they were ruthlessly questioned and goaded into admitting to untruths. The moniker the “Tipton Three” refers to three British Muslims who were held captive in Guantánamo for two years without ever being charged of a crime.

The three young men, Ruhel Ahmed, Asif Iqbal and Shafiq Rasul are featured throughout the film in newly recorded interviews and played by Farhad Harun, Afran Usman and Riz Ahmed, respectively in the reenactment scenes. Ruhel, Shafiq and Monir (Waqar Siddiqui) are accompanying Asif to Pakistan where he is set to be married to a young woman selected by his Mother. They embark on their trip just as the United States begins its bombing campaign. Along the way, they are captured by the United Alliance who torture and mistreat the young men to an inhuman degree. The detainees are enclosed in cages and regarded as if they are rabid dogs. Soldiers rattle off commands and approach the fences with caution and distrust, chucking rations out into the crowds from a far distance. Later, the men are encased in private cells in which they are not allowed to pray or even exercise. But nothing compares to the isolation sequences which are harrowing beyond belief. As the victim’s feet are chained to the ground, their hands are tied in between their ankles, forcing them into a sustained crouch position. While they are huddled over in pain, violently loud heavy metal music blares while seizure inducing strobe lights flicker continuously.

Minimal attempt is made to rationalize the behavior of the military in this film. There are fleeting instances of guards taking momentary pity on the detainees such as the killing of a tarantula or the interest in Shafiq’s freestyle rap. But otherwise, the officials are cruel and unsympathetic; there are even a couple of archival clips of President Bush making sweeping, uneducated statements. ...