Avery Hudson

24 May 2012

In The Oath, American director Laura Poitras tells Salim Hamdans story largely from the perspective of his friend Nasser al-Bahri, a.k.a. Abu Jandal.

In The Oath, American director Laura Poitras tells Salim Hamdan's storylargely from the perspective of his friend Nasser al-Bahri, a.k.a. AbuJandal. A taxi driver in Yemen's capital city of Sana'a, Jandal is aformer member of al Qaeda, chief bodyguard of Osama bin Laden, and"guesthouse emir" in charge of new arrivals to bin Laden's camp inAfghanistan. It was Hamdan's fateful association with Jandal that sethim on the course that eventually placed him in the middle of America'sWar on Terror.Abu Jandal was dedicated to the protection of Osama bin Laden and tothe reliability of new arrivals to bin Laden's Afghanistan trainingcamp, including many if not all of the 9/11 highjackers. On the day ofthe 9/11 attacks, Jandal was in a Yemeni prison where he was indialogue with a state-sponsored religious committee formed to engagewith extremist fundamentalists.After the 9/11 attacks, Jandal identified many of the hijackers to FBIagent Ali Soufan and became a significant source to link the attacks toal Qaeda. He was later freed from custody, and found work as a taxidriver.For The Oath, Poitras interviewed Jandal, followed him to meetings withYemeni youths, and joined him in quality time with his young son. Sheplaced a video camera on the dashboard of his taxi to record hisobservations and encounters with passengers during his work day.The Oath grants us an extraordinary perspective on al Qaeda'smanagement and leadership. Most importantly, the film introduces us tothe human beings who are our enemies and the unfortunate souls who getcaught in the undertow of conflict.Salim Hamdan is the silent protagonist at the heart of the film,represented by a voice-over reading from his letters home while captivein Guantánamo, a grainy video of his first interrogation, a recordingtaken by ABC's John Miller while Hamdan drove Miller to an interviewwith bin Laden, and a report from Hamdan's military trial.The Oath is the second documentary in a trilogy Poitras is developingabout post-9/11 America. The first, My Country, My Country, tells thestory of the U.S. occupation of Iraq from the perspective of an Iraqidoctor. A planned third film will focus on the 9/11 trials.

proud_father2002

24 May 2012

Poitras a director with something to say - nuanced, deep complex

Laura Poitras has crafted a brilliant piece of film that tells thecomplex and many faceted story of the film's 2 central characters.Frankly I was shocked to see such a layered, nuanced and complex filmfrom an American filmmaker; as opposed to the flaccid, sterile onedimensional pablum be usually see from American media; there is nosubject so important to mankind that we can't dumb down into 30 minutesof Melba toast.Although the story itself is deep, shocking and sad on so many levels... I felt strangely uplifted at the end.Encouraged that there are still filmmakers out there willing to gobeyond the simplistic and pathetically uninformed fabrications ofevents from a very narrow good or bad points of view. To get to thedark, complex underbelly of events where things are not as crisp andclean and clear as we would like, but far more relevant and important.We felt compassion for the former body guard/cab driver for thepredicament he is now in, clearly a man who wanted to do what he feltwas right and to stick to his word that he told The Dialogue he would.Well done, I will seek out t her work in the future. Whether or not Iwill agree or disagree with her position I do not know, but I know Iwill like how she gets us there.

23 May 2012

Fascinating insight into former Jihadists

This is a documentary about a former jihadist (Abu Jandal), who was a bodyguard for Osama Bin Laden, and his Brother in-Law (Salim Hamdan), who was Bin Laden's driver. When I started watching it, I was thinking "this is just another bleeding-heart liberal film that portrays terrorists as innocent and the US as the unjust Evil Empire; what a bunch of crap." HOWEVER, after getting into it, the film's story is obviously a lot more serious and nuanced than I originally thought, but it's still presented from what I'd call a liberal point of view. I actually rate it somewhere between a 3 and a 4. Most of the film follows Jandal around in his taxi in Yemen and interviews him, and documents his interactions with his family, his customers, and younger people that he tries to influence. The other setting is in Guantanamo Bay at the prison there. Jandal is a Muslim, who reminisces about his days of joining the fight in Bosnia in 1994 as a Jihadist, and then getting recruited by Bin Laden. He lets on early that younger Jihadists want to kill him, so you wonder what he did to deserve this (answered at the end). You also see him visiting his Sister and nieces, who are adorable (the nieces that is .... all older women are hidden behind dark burkas... looks like they're in the Middle Ages). The kid's father, Salim, was taken captive in Afghanistan after 9/11 and the fall of the Taliban. Jandal has a young son whom he teaches (brainwashes) the way of Islam (like getting up at 4:30 to pray), and I start thinking that I hate the guy when he asks his son whether he wants to be a mechanic or a jihadist when he grows up (he wants to be a jihadist.) Jandal WAS a "hard core" follower of Bin Laden who took an oath to him. He claims that his brother-in-law Salim was not a Bin Laden follower but just his driver, that he did not take the oath, and that Salim is being held at Guantanamo for doing nothing. I'm not so sure about this whitewash of Bin Laden's driver (guess we'll never know). But Salim Hamdan is portrayed basically as a nice guy who never was involved in the Al Queda "gang," and who just got caught up in the net. This is the POV taken by the director, who films Salim's trial via interviews with Jandal (who's biased obviously) and Salim's military lawyer at Guantanamo (who's also obviously biased). Not much balance there -- I would have liked to hear from someone about how Salim the driver couldn't have been innocent because he was right by the Seat of Evil -- Bin Laden -- all the time. At some point I'm not caring about either of these guys, thinking that Bin Laden killed 2900 people so anybody associated with him can rot in Hell for all I care. Also, the director DOES have an interview with Bin Laden in there (pre-911), the Devil Himself, in which he promises in his best emotion-less, Hilter-like manner that he's going to do vile unspeakable things to Americans for the sake of Allah. Chilling. That interview actually made me feel huge anger and a feeling that I wanted to run him through with a bayonet right there.Despite my animosity towards Bin Laden, Abu Jandal and Salim Hamdan (who is never seen in the movie apart from pictures), I started getting to see their humanity in the end. That is because in the end you learn two hugely important developments: (1) Jandal was not involved with 911, in fact he was in a Yemen prison being "re-educated" out of Jihadi-ism when 911 happenend, and he changed. He REALLY changed. He abandoned his oath to Bin Laden. He gave the FBI 16 days worth of amazing inside knowledge about Al Queda, which helped guide the US-led invasion of Afghanistan. He was not coerced to give this, but it appears that he was so shocked by what the Terrorists did in 911 that he spilled his guts. (Score one for "nice guy" interrogations.) It really looks like Abu Jandal wanted to change his life and give up all the Jihadi BS and just care for his family. (2) The other piece of news is that Salim is convicted in Guantanamo by a military tribunal of giving material support to terrorism, but his role in Al Queda was evidently limited (at least they couldn't prove that he had a deeper role), and he was given a 5 1/2 year sentence. With time served, he got out 5 months after the trial and went back to Yemen. The testimony makes the viewer THINK that he was a genuinely good guy that just got caught up with a bad bunch. I'd like to think that this was true. Strangely, I thought at the end that justice was served for Salim, in that he went through an ordeal & prison for his role, but his sentence was commesurate with his crime. He did stand up and thank the jury after his trial, which doesn't sound like a murderer/terrorist/thug to me. Knowing that the jury was composed of military personnel, makes me think that the system worked about as well as it could under such pressured circumstances.Abu Jandal is still in Yemen, and is currently a poor man. (He lost his taxi). I'm guessing that if Al Queda members watch this film, that he will someday be assassinated. Salim Hamdan is also living there in a quiet and isolated life after jail.A fascinating look into people who are caught up in an evil ideology, but also have human-ness and children. Some may think it's too easy on (ex)terrorists. My opinion is that it is. Bin Laden murdered thousands, and our response was to prosecute a limited war, then litigate. I think that some of his former followers got off pretty light. BUT I really think that if this is typical, then military tribunals come out looking fair and just -- maybe TOO fair and just for what they deserve! Watch it and decide for yourself! (In Arabic and captioned.)

22 May 2012

Fascinating insight into former Jihadists, albeit too liberal

This is a documentary about a former jihadist (Abu Jandal), who was a bodyguard for Osama Bin Laden, and his Brother in-Law (Salim Hamdan), who was Bin Laden's driver. When I started watching it, I was thinking "this is just another bleeding-heart liberal film that portrays terrorists as innocent and the US as the unjust Evil Empire; what a bunch of crap." HOWEVER, after getting into it, the film's story is obviously a lot more serious and nuanced than I originally thought, but it's still presented from what I'd call a liberal point of view.Most of the film follows Jandal around in his taxi in Yemen and interviews him, and documents his interactions with his family, his customers, and younger people that he tries to influence. The other setting is in Guantanamo Bay at the prison there. Jandal is a Muslim, who reminisces about his days of joining the fight in Bosnia in 1994 as a Jihadist, and then getting recruited by Bin Laden. He lets on early that younger Jihadists want to kill him, so you wonder what he did to deserve this (answered at the end). You also see him visiting his Sister and nieces, who are adorable (the nieces that is .... all older women are hidden behind dark burkas... looks like they're in the Middle Ages). The kid's father, Salim, was taken captive in Afghanistan after 9/11 and the fall of the Taliban.Jandal has a young son whom he teaches (brainwashes) the way of Islam (like getting up at 4:30 to pray), and I start thinking that I hate the guy when he asks his son whether he wants to be a mechanic or a jihadist when he grows up (he wants to be a jihadist.) Jandal WAS a "hard core" follower of Bin Laden who took an oath to him. He claims that his brother-in-law Salim was not a Bin Laden follower but just his driver, that he did not take the oath, and that Salim is being held at Guantanamo for doing nothing. I'm not so sure about this whitewash of Bin Laden's driver (guess we'll never know). But Salim Hamdan is portrayed basically as a nice guy who never was involved in the Al Queda "gang," and who just got caught up in the net. This is the POV taken by the director, who films Salim's trial via interviews with Jandal (who's biased obviously) and Salim's military lawyer at Guantanamo (who's also obviously biased). Not much balance there -- I would have liked to hear from someone about how Salim the driver couldn't have been innocent because he was right by the Seat of Evil -- Bin Laden -- all the time.At some point I'm not caring about either of these guys, thinking that Bin Laden killed 2900 people so anybody associated with him can rot in Hell for all I care. Also, the director DOES have an interview with Bin Laden in there (pre-911), the Devil Himself, in which he promises in his best emotion-less, Hilter-like manner that he's going to do vile unspeakable things to Americans for the sake of Allah. Chilling. That interview actually made me feel huge anger and a feeling that I felt like killing him right there.Despite my animosity towards Bin Laden, Abu Jandal and Salim Hamdan (who is never seen in the movie apart from pictures), I started getting to see the latter two character's humanity in the end. That is because in the end you learn two hugely important developments: (1) Jandal was not involved with 911, in fact he was in a Yemen prison being "re-educated" out of Jihadi-ism when 911 happenend, and he changed. He REALLY changed. He abandoned his oath to Bin Laden. He gave the FBI 16 days worth of amazing inside knowledge about Al Queda, which helped guide the US-led invasion of Afghanistan. He was not coerced to give this, but it appears that he was so shocked by what the Terrorists did in 911 that he spilled his guts. (Score one for "nice guy" interrogations.) It really looks like Abu Jandal wanted to change his life and give up all the Jihadi BS and just care for his family.(2) The other piece of news is that Salim is convicted in Guantanamo by a military tribunal of giving material support to terrorism, but his role in Al Queda was evidently limited (at least they couldn't prove that he had a deeper role), and he was given a 5 1/2 year sentence. With time served, he got out 5 months after the trial and went back to Yemen. The testimony makes the viewer THINK that he was a genuinely good guy that just got caught up with a bad bunch. I'd like to think that this was true. Strangely, I thought at the end that justice was served for Salim, in that he went through an ordeal & prison for his role, but his sentence was commesurate with his crime. He did stand up and thank the jury after his trial, which doesn't sound like a murderer/terrorist/thug to me. Knowing that the jury was composed of military personnel, makes me think that the system worked about as well as it could under such pressured circumstances.Abu Jandal is still in Yemen, and is currently a poor man. (He lost his taxi). I'm guessing that if Al Queda members watch this film, that he will someday be assassinated. Salim Hamdan is also living there in a quiet and isolated life after jail.A fascinating look into people who are caught up in an evil ideology, but also have humanity and children. Some may think it's too easy on ex-terrorists. My opinion is that it is. Bin Laden murdered thousands, and our response was to prosecute a limited war, then litigate, (and finally kill him, which happened after I watched this film BTW). I think that some of his former followers got off pretty light. BUT I really think that if this is typical, then military tribunals come out looking fair and just -- maybe TOO fair and just for what they deserve! Watch it and decide for yourself! (In Arabic and captioned.)

20 May 2012

They Worked for Bin Laden

Not a dramatic re-enactment, but a skillfully done and even-handed documentary with interviews focusing on the trials and tribulations of Osama Bin Laden's personal driver and ex-bodyguard. The former is shown living in Yemen and working as a self-employed taxi driver after attending a government anti-jihadist re-education program,. The latter is depicted as detained on shaky legal grounds at Guantanamo and fighting for his release. Very interesting and rarely seen street scenes of Yemen. Also includes extensive interviews with the protagonists and their family members, as well as with legal and religious officials. This film was completed before Bin Laden was killed, which gives the viewer a unique perspective for interpreting its significance.

Viejose

19 May 2012

Most viewers will never understand enough of this picture to form an opinion. . . .

Sadly, once again, we are confronted with a film crafted by a directorwho loses sight of the most important consideration: what does theviewer see? Story line, audio levels, camera angles, editingconsiderations are trivial details if the viewer has no way ofunderstanding what is being spoken. This movie is spoken in Arabic,with English subtitles. The problem is that the subtitles of thetranslated Arabic are one quarter of the size of the subtitles of theSDH English subtitles. And, if that weren't bad enough, the subtitlesare in white, often white on white, nearly impossible to read. Andabsolutely impossible to read at the speed necessary to keep up withthe rapid dialogue and the rapidly changing subtitles. I was so lookingforward to hearing what these Al Qaeda members had to say. It's too badthat the director wasn't sufficiently interested in allowing me thatopportunity.