The BBC's "The Mauritanian" is based on Mohamedou Ould Slahi's memoir "The Guantanamo Diaries". true story.
Not much to say, there will be spoilers. I avoid spoilers before watching the movie. So, push yourself and others. Just about the cast: Jodie Foster as lawyer Nancy; Benedict Cumberbatch as Lieutenant Stewart; Taha Rahim, who I don't know much about, as lead actor Slahi. They dedicate their acting skills, each with its own merits. Especially Taha Rahim, who plays Slahi who has been wronged and thrown into Guantanamo, the hell on earth, for 14 years without giving up hope.
The film uses a different format: Slahi appears in a narrow format. Other than that, it's wide. The director uses a narrow width to reflect Slahi's experience, and the discerning person knows its meaning, and there is no need to repeat it.
The Guantanamo military prison of the United States is in Cuba, facing the sea on three sides. However, the blue Caribbean Sea can only be seen through a small hole in the prison's thick cover.
One of my favorite shots: Prisoner No. 760 Slahi and Prisoner No. 241 "Marseille" have a dialogue through a thick isolation, only listening to their voices and seeing no one. Slahi grabbed the barbed wire with his left hand, closed his eyes, stretched out his right hand and gently swayed his body, as if he were on the seaside, and encouraged "Marseille" to never give up. Their conversations are shown in Figure ① and Figure ②.
Two of my favorite shots: Slahi calmly presents himself to the judge via video from far-off Guantanamo. All emotional ups and downs are restrained in the calm expression. That's not intentional, that's the power of faith.
Movies get better and better. I especially liked the actual footage of Slahi's release at the end. Slahi went back to his hometown of Mauritania, and when he got out of the car, I saw that smiling face that was still pure, without any trace of hatred. When Slahi heard Bob Dylan's The Man in Me clapping his hands cheerfully and singing along with a big smile, I couldn't believe it was a man who had been subjected to inhumane treatment at the Guantanamo military prison for 14 years. His smile is like sunshine.
Do you remember "The Shawshank Redemption"? Yes, I remembered too. But that is a novel adaptation, this is real life. I would also like to say that it is a miracle that such a book that ruthlessly exposes the darkness of the US government, the military, and the military intelligence agency can be published and made into a movie.
"Will you stand against evil? Will you do everything in your power to seek justice on Earth? And treat everyone with the dignity inherent in human beings?"
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