The Mauritanian (8/10)

by Tony Medley

129 minutes.

R.

In 2016, back before Donald Trump was elected president, I would have thought this was an attack on the American system of justice, and disbelieved. However, today, after four years of the government swamp, headed by the DOJ and the CIA, ignoring the Constitution and attacking the president day after day, I believe every word of this.

Based upon the book “Guantánamo Diary” by Mohamedou Ould Slahi and edited by Larry Siems, directed by Kevin Macdonald from a script by Michael Bonner (aka M.B. Traven), and Rory Haines & Sohrab Noshirvani, it starts out saying “this is a true story.” Not “based on,” or, “adapted from,” it just flat out says this is a true story.

If so, it is devastating. Slahi (an exceptional Tahar Rahim who looks a lot like the real Slahi) was arrested in Mauritania two months after 9/11, and disappeared. He was finally shipped to Guantánamo and held without charges with other suspected 9/11 terrorists for more than 14 years.

Nancy Hollander (Jodie Foster) became his attorney without knowing him or anything about him. She is assisted by Teri Duncan (Shailene Woodley). The government was out to condemn him to death and Col. Stuart Couch (Benedict Cumberbatch) is appointed by the Marines to prosecute.

The film goes into detail of the horrible conditions under which Slahi was held at Guantánamo and the atrocious tortures endured. It even shows the nastiness of the people running Guantánamo in the way they treated Slahi and his attorneys. The failure of the government to cooperate in providing discovery needed by the defense is akin to the way the DOJ has conducted itself since at least 2016. The government apparently feels that laws are for the people but that it can ignore them with impunity.

I have never been to Guantánamo, obviously, and have no idea about the accuracy presented here, but I have no reason to disbelieve it. All of the “evidence” against him is highly circumstantial. From what I can determine, everything in the movie actually happened, and the torture is severe. The real Nancy Holleander confirms that Slahi’s surprising sense of humor is real.

The location is not actually Guantánamo and most people have never been there. But Slahi helped with the recreation. He spent 14 years there so knows it very well, including the measurements of the cells.

Even though Rahim carries the movie with his sensitive portrayal, he is bolstered by Foster, Cumberbatch, and Woodley who are equally good. While the film is quite long, it is well worth watching. For what it’s worth, I believe it, and apparently his guards believed him innocent, also. If so, the government, especially the regimes of Bush and Obama, have a lot to apologize for.

Stay for the credits because there are clips of the real Slahi. One can’t help feeling a high sense of admiration for his attitude and character after all he went through.

The Mauritanian is now available on Blu-Ray, DVD, VOD & Digital (as of May 11, 2021).