The Road To Guantanamo Movie
Storyline
TAGLINES PLOT SUMMARY
In 2001, four Pakistani Britons, Ruhal Ahmed, Asif Iqbal and Shafiq Rasul and another friend, Monir, travel to Pakistan for a wedding and in a urge of idealism, decide to see the situation of war torn Afganistan which is being bombed by the American forces in retaliation for the 9/11 terrorist attacks. Once there, with the loss of Monir in the wartime chaos, they are captured by Northern Alliance fighters. They are then handed them over the American forces who transport them to the prison camps at the Guantanamo Bay base in Cuba. What follows is three years of relentless imprisonment, interrogations and torture to make them submit to blatantly wrong confessions to being terrorists. In the midst of this abuse, the three struggle to keep their spirits up in that face of this grave injustice.
| Riz Ahmed | Shafiq |
| Farhad Harun | Ruhel |
| Waqar Siddiqui | Monir |
| Afran Usman | Asif Iqbal |
| Shahid Iqbal | Zahid |
| Sher Khan | Sher Khan |
| Jason Salkey | Military Interrogator Sheberghan |
| Jacob Gaffney | Kandahar Interregator #1 |
| Mark Holden | Kandahar Interrogator #2 |
| Duane Henry | Guard #1 |
| William Meredith | Guard #2 |
| Payman Bina | Guard #3 |
| Adam James | SAS Interrogator |
| Ian Hughes | MI5 Interrogator |
| James Buller | MI5 |
| Mat Whitecross |
7.70 out of 10 (3095 votes)
Visitor Reviews
a heart breaking film
posted on 28 Aug 2009Today i got a chance to watch this film namely "a road to Guantanamo".i must say that this is not an anti American film and not a propaganda but anti American government policy film. The way the director and producer have depicted the scene of that jail is really awesome. this will me will really create a difference in peoples mind and will encourage them to think that whats happening in that jail and many are charged without any guilty.In everybody's mind one question is revolving that in what charge and in what case they are detained those tip-ton three were fortunate that they belong to great Britain and have a powerful back ground so they were released what about many Pakistanis, Afghanis and other belonging to different countries who are just waiting for there death to come. OK if we assume that among those detainees there are some terrorist but why we forgot this that there are also human beings and treating with them like an animal is really what makes anybody offended. here i would like to add another thing that we the people of Pakistan are not against America or British as many Pakistanis and Asians live there in both country but we are against of there government policies. really its a heart breaking movie.
THE ROAD TO GUANTANAMO is a powerful film.
posted on 20 Aug 2009What a brilliant and compelling story of three blokes from England, who happen to be of color, on a journey to a mate's wedding in Pakistan, who decide to make a trek to Afghanistan to perhaps make a contribution to that country's situation. And then the horror sets in with the start of American bombing.To watch these three friends imprisoned and treated as "Taliban" when that is far from the truth is an eye opener. What I found horrifying was the treatment by American soldiers and the ghastly way they were treated by American forces. With THE ROAD TO GUANTANAMO, along with the headlines of American atrocities in Iraq, the film makes me cringe and loathe what Bush is doing in the Middle East and how the victims of the war are really innocent families with children.THE ROAD TO GUANTANAMO is a sad and terrifying treatise on American justice and the interrogation scenes in the film that the prisoners endured, will always stay in my mind. Then to learn what happened to the actors upon returning from Berlin is another travesty in the name of democracy.
The Intelligence of the North!
posted on 16 Aug 2009A Perfect movie... with a great point of view. (A must see).There is no much to say about this film... just beautiful. If you are a fan of the High Intelligence of the our great USA, well you will just love it. Now I can clearly understand how you can catch the bad guys. Millions and Millions of dollars are invested to train this High qualified soldiers and it's intelligence's sector... And in this movie you can see how great the result of this investment is. There's not doubt about why we all should keep on supporting the most intelligent people in the world... the High Raze of the North. PS: When you see the film, we will understand what I'm saying and then you will agree with me. !
required viewing
posted on 14 Aug 2009It did bother me in the beginning that the explanation for going to Afghanistan seemed to be rather flawed. Had they taken a stand as to their political convictions the circumstances would seem a lot more plausible. As their journey continues, though, you can't shake the notion that these are just a couple of boys taking a chance on adventure by changing plans on spring break and ending up in the swamps of the Everglades instead of Daytona. But whatever their motives, what ensues is horrific, shameful and completely unacceptable by the standards America and the rest of the so called civilized world has set as the norm of human treatment. I respect the filmmakers for showing the horrors without sensationalizing the events with gore. The portrayal is almost classical in a sense and therefore so compelling. America and the UK are not bashed but accused which makes it so much more shameful for the viewer. Hopefully the shame will be followed by outrage and demand for change.
Terrorism Propaganda
posted on 13 Jul 2009This is a slick well put together piece of terrorist propaganda in which 3 boys who have had all the privileges and liberties of western society travel, weeks after 911, 12000 miles across the world and "get lost" in a van with 50 other foreign fighters, who also "got lost" after accidentally picking up AK47s and rpgs, and again accidentally head for the front-line in an imminent war. they are somehow mistaken for fighters, although they can't figure out why,something about the convoy being full to the brim with gun totting lunatics and are subsequently captured by Americans who are unrelentingly portrayed as barbarians.The trick of this docu-farce is to make out that the terrorists are human beings too-- without showing one image of the child murderers they truly are..The truly funny thing about this movie is the way the terrorists are portrayed as all being saintly individuals who would never hurt a fly (complete to swooning music).The story is comical and riven with errors and smacks of a hastily put together "I-got-lost" tale given quickly after capture.note: listen to the stats at the end and notice how not one mention is given of the 17% of terrorists that are recaptured on the battlefield after release...defo worth a watch but doooooooooont get sucked in....
A brutal one-sided look into the questionable detentions at Guantanamo
posted on 05 Jul 2009I saw this docudrama at SilverDocs and thought it gave an intriguing, if brutal and chilling, look into the detentions at Guantanamo Bay. The movie chronicles the stories of four men who go to attend a wedding in Pakistan in September of 2001. They end up, for reasons that in my view remain unclear, going to Afghanistan where they are caught in the crossfire between the Taliban and Northern Alliance forces. They are arrested and the film shows their treatment at the hands of first Northern Alliance and later American forces.The format of the movie is a historical recreation interspersed with interviews with three of the men profiled. While this allows a view into their lives from their perspective, the film suffers from the lack of any alternative point-of-view. As far as I am able to determine, there was no effort to interview or document any person who might contradict their account. Whether that's because no such person exists or whether it is because the filmmakers did not look for such people is unclear.The brutal treatment of the men while they are in custody is shocking, but tends to become almost mundane by the end of the movie. The constant shouting, beating, and questioning becomes almost boring despite its brutality. This may be an intentional effect by the filmmakers to illustrate the repetitive nature of the detentions at Guantanamo.Overall, the movie provides an interesting, if one-sided, view of the treatment of prisoners following the United States' invasion of Afghanistan.
Terryfic film.Simply great
posted on 23 Jun 2009Michael Winterbotton is an English director with an irregular,but interesting career.He's unpredictable.He made movies of all genres.Sometimes,the result is great(like 24 hour party people or Welcome to Sarajevo)and sometimes,the result is pathetic(9 songs or The claim).The road to Guantanamo,his new film(co-directed with Mat Whitecross)belongs to the first category.This film has subject with a relation with that tragical September 11th.This film is greatly done.There are realistic scenes to show the horror and I think that it's portrayed really well.During the movie,I could feel the same grade of desperation the main characters have.It's not a movie easy to watch because some scenes are so realistic that they can affect sensitive persons.The road to Guantanamo is a great film which kept me really interested and which shows some of the greatest realistic scenes from this year.The road to Guantanamo is a must see.
Shockingly Good
posted on 21 Jun 2009This is probably one of the most mind boggling films I have ever seen. It definitely deserved the Berlin International Film Festival award.We often hear about the 500 or so detainees in Guantanamo and we may grant these men some basic pity. And then we change the channel. But this film makes you think about the imprisonment these men face in Guantanamo. And I mean REALLY think. Parts of this movie were as gut-wrenching as they were engrossing. Sitting in my seat in the cinema, I couldn't stop thinking about how I'm finding it psychologically gripping just to watch this movie, and how painful it must feel to actually be at the receiving end of this Guantanamo Hospitality. The viewer feels a strange combination of compassion, pity, distaste and frustration all within the 95 minutes of this film/documentary.What I like about The Road to Guantanamo, is that there is little or no gore, yet one feels disgusted at the level that humanity has sunk to. And one feels respect for the solid perseverance and patience of the Tipton Three and the scores of other innocent men held at Guantanamo.I recommend The Road to Guantanamo to you. Because it is a brilliant and thought provoking take on human rights, justice and Guantanamo.
Simply ignorant anti-American propaganda
posted on 15 Jun 2009Let me preface this by saying I'm not a brainwashed American. I openly have some issues with some Bush policies and some things like the Patriot Act. This being satisfactorily mentioned; This film is the "Blair Witch Project" of GWOT "documentaries". It's a fake. It also proves the Hollywood style film making power of the so-called "left" or anti-GWOT peaceniks. There's obviously a great bit of production cost in this film. This is a doco of sorts that follows the joy-ride to Afghanistan of some stupid UK citizens of Pakistan descent. It's made to appear, complete with night-vision style clips, to be authentic, as if a film crew followed these guys from the UK to this ridiculous trek into Afghanistan via Pakistan. They knew war was coming to Pakistan. They had no money to "help", and just happened to have got caught in an area loaded with Taliban and other resistance fighters. Apparently no IDs or passports, a poor un-verifiable cover story, at least two of their group lost in the sauce somewhere-where, they didn't know. The film makes the UK and America out to be worse than the Northern Alliance, which is depicted to have killed many such prisoners. Then, they don't cooperate with interrogators who have good cause to be more than a little suspicious. I say they're lucky to be alive, and stupid and irresponsible for going into a war zone like that in the first place. Here's your sign.
A sad part of our military history
posted on 13 Jun 2009Although some have not heard of the Tipton Three, they are real. In fact, one of them, Shafiq Rasul should be familiar to all who were really in Guantanamo. He is the one who sued George Bush and won in Rasul vs Bush the right of the captives at Guantanamo to challenge their captivity in US courts.The movie itself has very good production values. At times, the reenactment gives the impression we are seeing a collection of clips filmed in real time and on site. Oh and by the way, of the 775 prisoners taken to Gitmo, 420 were released without charge.
Great, great movie that has to be seen for all Americans
posted on 05 Jun 2009This is a great , great movie showing the paranoia and racial profiling that has been going on in our country for a long time.The movie as IMDb explains is "Part drama, part documentary" and it revolves around three British Muslims (they weren't terrorists) who were held in Guantanamo Bay without rights or a trail after they made a trip to Afghanistan and it's harbors.Yes they had awful timing to visit a country engulfed in war but it was part of their expedition and their roots to see the country. It was also awful timing for the US to engage in a war that many of the American public do not support.Despite what George W. Bush, Dick Cheney and other right wingers say there is torture, disrespect, beatings and a host of other shameless things that are in direct violation of the Geneva code at Guantanamo. We all saw what happened in Abu Ghraib and the prisoner abuse there that was LARGELY kept secret until someone reported it this is nothing in the post 9/11 world but tip of the iceberg.The stuff going on Guantanamo has been well detailed in shows like 60 Minutes and news sources like the Guantanamoble project which has DVD's and interviews with prisoners: http://www.guantanamobile.org/interviews.phpYet we continue doing the same mistakes over and over in the name of National Security even when Lawyers and Supreme Court itself say the policies there are wrong.. This is what causes the rest of the world which is in poverty and despair to lash out the USA with such rage and passion. Everyone was affected by 9/11 no doubt but there were better ways to rebuild and handle than to jail hundreds of people without due process of law. Sadly the law seems something that is only really executed to the rich and well enough than to the common man or foreigner.Directors Michael Winterbottom, Mat Whitecross did an amazingly good job. He hired some actors to play the role but we also see interviews with the actual Tipton Three about their terrible ordeal. The movie is beautifully shot as well, and really you just have are in admiration for what the directors are trying to do here which is to end the madness and say "hey this is wrong". The policies are wrong especially when it comes to the military with really no prove whatsoever to try and coerce some of these prisoners to admit that they are Al-Queda or some terrorist organizations without any sufficient proof. Anyhow see this movie. It's getting great ratings on IMDb as well, and I would urge any real concerned American to watch it and discuss it with their friends.
A powerful and important docu-drama
posted on 28 May 2009I felt this movie was a powerful and balanced account of "the road to Gitmo" of the Tipton four. I found it far more balanced and thorough than, for instance, Fahrenheit 9/11. I felt that the reenactments were stunningly realistic. Like another reviewer here, I too wish that the director had explored the reasons of the four for going to Afghanistan in greater depth. But irrespective of their reasons, how can the US, which claims to be a champion of democracy, human rights, freedom and the rule of just, secular and rational laws, incarcerate masses of people indefinitely without a fair trial, and also extract "confessions" by torturing them? How can the US and its allies "win hearts and minds" and the war against terrorism this way? Religious fundamentalism and terrorism are dangerous phenomena, but they are too dangerous to be tackled by angry, knee-jerk reactions. I wish the American and other leaders (including that of my country, India) would try to understand the underlying causes, and tackle them with intelligence, tact, and of course fairness, rather than brute force.The movie also illustrates the pathetic poverty of leadership in the US and elsewhere. Mr. Bush says "these are bad guys". Who did he think he was talking to, nursery kids? Maybe he cannot comprehend or explain anything more complicated, but at least his advisers should have told him what to say! And I am puzzled and disappointed that an intelligent, capable leader like Mr. Blair is hanging onto Mr. Bush's coat-tails.
great film!
posted on 12 May 2009Excellent film, not anti-American and not intended for propaganda. This is the TRUTH the government lies about and it is indeed gripping and real. If you want evidence that this actually happened, refer to the US Supreme Court cased 'Rasul v. Bush'. You can't get more evidence than that.before this movie (which I viewed at video.google.com) I knew slightly about the atrocities that occurred at Gitmo bay but now everything is in perspective and it all makes so much sense.Who cares about being politically correct? first of all this isn't anti American. America is based on JUSTICE not leaders lying to you and claiming they fight for democracy when they are in fact the epitome of anarchy and are torturers of innocent. in Guantanamo bay have they found anyone guilty of crimes? have they even charged the prisoners?? this is crazy and without movies like this and other media to spread AWARENESS not the opposite (ignorance) our society can begin to think for itself.
eye opening excellent film don't miss
posted on 10 May 2009The Road To Guantanamo Karma. Karma is the first word that comes to mind when I was sitting watching this film. What kind of Karma is America creating by treating fellow human beings this way? America, who holds herself on such a high moral hilltop, is really wallowing in the swamp below.I believe a movie like this is meant to invoke emotion, to educate and to force us to look in the mirror. The Road To Guantanamo did all those things extremely well, and much, much more. This film put a human face on the so-called worst of the worst. People we are treating like livestock. I am not trying to say that the US government does not have any true terrorists in custody, but from following this issue for years now, enough has come to light to prove that many of the detainees were just in the wrong place at the wrong time. Treatment like this will surely make terrorists out of ordinary men.The images shown in this film have made me question many things, so I think it has done its job, and done it well. Tastefully shot, the director did not gore up or intensify the torture with music. He did not have to. The actions against these detainees were shameful acts that needed no embellishments to shock you.There are some questions that are not entirely clear, such as who the boys were going to help when they went to Afghanistan. But it really does not matter in the larger picture. So many senseless deaths, so much pain inflicted by man to his brother, the question that kept repeating in my head was "What is wrong with mankind? Have we really left the cave, or did we just trade the skins for suits and the club for an m16" Take your family, take your friends, tell your coworkers, even your enemies – it is crucial for our democracy to know what our government is doing with out tax dollars, in our name. This movie does a stellar job of just that.
They must think we are all dumb
posted on 26 Apr 2009My comments are mostly for people that already saw the film. I give it 4, balancing the acting (8) and the credibility of the arguments of the three guys (1). Think: if it was a fiction film, would you believe that these boys (or men) were so stupid to go to the middle of a war just "on vacation" and end up in a Taliban center because the bus driver for no reason took then to there? If it was a fictional movie you would say that the plot id awful, for sure. ...And they expect for us to believe this in a documentary film?When they take the bus to go back to Pakistan, the bus actually carried them to a Taliban resistance center, with taliban soldiers so called terrorists, fighting against the coalition. Of course the Taliban wouldn't receive people with them unless they were sure they were on their side, they wouldn't receive four British civilian even when they were Pakistanis's origin.I want to be clear that I was against the war in Irak, and was not pro the war in Afghanistan. I am really against all this "petrol war", but I hate lies and I think this film is full of them.In the very unlikely case that they were really innocents, someone must be very, very idiotic to go the the middle of a war and end up in an enemy district, so in that case they also deserve what happened to then for being so idiots. ... But I don't think it is the most probable case. If they were taliban 's followers and became taliban soldiers, that's OK, it was a war, and they were captured. They must be thankful that they are still alive. And now they still fight this war, now with this film. It is biased and anti-American propaganda. I'm not saying that what everything Americans did there was all right, far from that, but please... the viewer must not be so innocent to believe the story told from a biased sight.What I rescue from this film is that it lets you see how the people live in those countries. One funny thing is when the Americans torture the prisoners with heavy metal songs, ha ha, I have a friend who does the same thing!!
Film making has finally taken one giant leap for mankind
posted on 16 Apr 2009I recently watched Brokeback Mountain and I see similarities in the type of context being given across in both these films. Yet the difference is the execution of Guantanemo far outweighs the emotional strategies of Brokeback.For me both films convey an expression over important social factors that affects everyone today and for which most have an opinion. Yet while Brokeback went to extremes by using Cowboys (who are supposedly the ultimate macho straight image) to hijack social mentality, Guantenamo remained pure and loyal to the job at hand.The cinematography, plot, acting, direction is all pure but also chronologically perfect to the story being told. So perfect that one is left with a comprehensive view of events surrounding these individuals. Individuals who didn't have a stage for their perspective, in a world where the stage is overtaken by the western media.It's difficult for a film of this quality to gain expression in favour of a universal view in this world. One simply has to attempt to watch the film and maybe gain some appreciation for it. Brokeback had the backing of a marketing department and the sentimentality of a subculture of people, in homosexuals, that have many wide ranging channels to express themselves.In this case, the Muslim young men who were brought into this situation, didn't have many until a bold film maker took up the hard task.What is given is something the world needs. An alternative perspective to an already overamplified unitary view.Very Good in terms of film making, in terms of life imitating art, in terms of what media is when no boundaries and control exist.
These guys were just so foolish!
posted on 10 Apr 2009How in the name of any god, and why would you as a Brit going to a wedding suddenly: go to a war zone to see if you could help and how big the 'naans' are?? That's what I really did not get. Then the story line was very weak in my point of view, every time you thought OK, not we're somewhere, the plot or story just stopped and went somewhere else. For example: they are once questioned why they were in Afhganistan? ... you expect them to answer that they were there for a wedding, but boom the camera turns and takes another view without letting them answer on that question. In the end they answered sometimes; but then it were answers like: 'Bullshit' (litteraly) on the same sort of questioning. Why did they not persevere in that they were unguilty? That made me almost angry... it is a bad thing what happens in Guantanamo, but at the same time it seemed to me as: what happens if you let a American fool interrogate a British fool? Anwering foolish, then you get foolish treatment as well I guess!
Compelling
posted on 31 Mar 2009This is a very personal story – the story of four pretty ordinary, young Englishmen (of Pakistani background) who were in the were in the wrong place at the wrong time. It puts faces, personalities and stories to the so-called "evil-doers", the "really bad guys", as George W. Bush likes to childishly describe them. In doing so, it exposes the absolutely corrupt lies that we have been fed by our leaders.The four arrived in Pakistan for a wedding, not long after after the events of September 11, 2001. During their visit, they crossed the porous border of Afghanistan. Perhaps it was curiosity, or adventurism (the film doesn't fully explain). Whatever their reasons, the film is ultimately about the inhumanity and injustice that has been meted out while in the custody of US forces.The narrative takes the form of talking heads. Three of the young men (one is missing, presumed dead) speak intermittently as their experiences are re-enacted by non-professional actors in a documentary-like format, based on the accounts of the three. The realism of these segments is gripping, interspersed with Al Jazeera video footage from the time.Trapped in Kunduz province under attack by the Northern Alliance, the three men and other residents scramble onto a truck shared with Taliban fighters evacuating from the town. When this truck is intercepted, the occupants are all taken into custody. Thus begins the arduous road to Guantanamo.In the end, this story is not just about four young men. It is about Mamdouh Habib, David Hicks and a multitude of innocents who were in the wrong place at the wrong time. Those without western governments to support them still languish under harsh conditions. It is a travesty that the Australian government is the only western government that continues to abandon its responsibilities to its citizens. As the film depicts, contrary to the rule of law, there is a presumption of guilt.For me, the constant inhumane interrogations, solitary confinements and beatings were reminiscent of the 1692 Salem trials depicted in Arthur Miller's parable The Crucible, or the House Un-American Activities Committee hearings (which inspired Miller's work) so artfully and powerfully depicted in George Clooney's Good Night, and Good Luck. Ironically, they depict the very type of pernicious activities that the US government was claiming to be saving the world from.In the context of current world events, this is an important film. I suspect that it will mostly preach to the converted, but hopefully it will find a wider audience. I found it compelling.
Watch it.
posted on 23 Mar 2009I haven't slept for twenty four hours after watching The Road to Guantanamo. As a westerner I feel bombarded with western orientated reports on recent US actions. I can't remember the last news report I saw or read saying 'this is really bad what the US are doing'. Everything is very PC, objective, and non opinionated, but nobody wants to offend the US it seems. This film portrayed the US as the bad guys - it didn't offer a contradictory view. Some people might think that shows poor journalism, I think it's a refreshing perspective, considering that the US are constantly allowed to offer us excuses for whatever wrongs they commit. This time they weren't, and I found it very enlightening.
You and I and our civil liberties are tortured in this film.
posted on 30 Aug 2009America... Afghanistan... Two so very distant places, seemingly opposite to one another, yet identical from the scope of basic humanity.The movie portrays the journey to Guantanamo Bay from the eyes of the inmates, who could be me or you perhaps sometime in the foreseeable future.Even if you were to watch this film from a very critical, and most unyielding evaluative stance, you will neither find a bias nor will you sense the same numb feeling of the typical mainstream propaganda machine.Yes, the movie is from one-sided perspective. Yes, the movie does not follow the elite-induced psyche of September 11th. Yet, the horrors of the Police State cannot be beautified or justified by any means.I only have two questions that remain unanswered.First: How did the State create beasts out of Men? Second: How did our consciousness escape us to allow such horror to unfold?