The Road to Guantanamo
Directed by: Michael Winterbottom and Mat Whitecross
Starring: Riz Ahmed, Farhad Harun, Waqar Siddiqui, Arfan Usman, Shahid Iqbal

Guantanamo Bay is an area in Cuba where the U.S. military decided to set up shop over 100 years ago, carving themselves a nice little remote naval base and eventually, in the wake of 9/11, a prisoner detainment camp. It’s a place that has become infamous for alleged torture and abuse of suspected terrorists, and it is the subject of this docu-drama by British filmmakers Michael Winterbottom and Mat Whitecross.

Back in 2001, Asif Iqbal, a British muslim, travelled to Pakistan at the request of his parents who hoped he might settle down and get married. He brought along his friends, Shafiq Rasul and Ruhal Ahmed, who would attend the wedding, and while he thought over the marriage arrangements they decided to do some travelling. They took a bus into Afghanistan to see what the situation was like over there (not such a bright move in retrospect), and ended up getting caught in the middle of the American military strike. They were captured by the Northern Alliance and treated as suspected Taliban members: imprisoned, questioned and eventually transported to Guantanamo Bay. Despite the fact that they had done nothing wrong, they claim to have been tortured, repeatedly beaten, and forced to admit involvement with the Al-Qaeda. The three men (who have come to be known as the “Tipton Three” since they all hailed from the small town of Tipton), were held without legal representation for 3 years, before eventually being released in 2004.

While some people question the validity of the claims, director Michael Winterbottom decided to take their personal accounts at face value and dramatize them into a harrowing, and at times disturbing, film. The movie intercuts actual interviews of the men telling their story, with re-enactments of the events — but don’t assume this is some cheesy made-for-TV special. The movie was shot on location in Afghanistan, Pakistan and Iran (which doubled as Cuba), and through the use of real locations and handheld camera work, it truly puts you in the shoes of the Tipton Three. Although these are shoes that few of us would actually want to be in, The Road to Guantanamo is an experience designed to shake you up. I don’t think anyone can come away from this film without feeling angry; if not angry at the injustices depicted in the movie, then perhaps angry at the intentions of the filmmakers.

It’s inevitable that many will criticize such a powerful movie on the grounds that its events are not proven to be truthful, and yet it presents them in a pseudo-documentary format. Indeed, I did find it necessary to constantly remind myself that what I was watching wasn’t real footage, but rather a dramatization. (There is even some real news footage mixed in to further assist the illusion.) It can certainly be argued that a movie like this is a manipulative piece of propaganda, but I think it’s important to look at the larger picture. I would compare it to a movie like United 93. This tells a story, rooted in reality, that will help to open some people’s eyes. Yes, it is critical of the U.S. military system, but it’s more of an examination than an indictment. It also gives us a different perspective on how the war happened, and the scenes taking place in Afghanistan prior to their capture are some of the most compelling and intense moments of the movie.

Even if the story told by the Tipton Three is inaccurate, I still think we need to realize that yes, mistakes are made during wars, and yes, details get lost in the shuffle. The U.S. may very well be abusing their prisoners of war, but if we had a surefire way of weeding out the innocent victims, would we really have the same objections? It’s a slippery slope, with no easy answers, but this movie will get people thinking and talking, and as always, that is a noteworthy achievement for a film.

To be honest, I think the movie is as low key and impartial as it could possibly be. It is not self-serving or arrogant, nor is it overly gratuitous and gruesome. There’s nothing preachy about it, it simply presents the story as they tell it, with the maximum impact possible. It does occasionally go the extra step to help us relate to the characters, for example, by showing a few short flashbacks of the young men playing soccer and hanging out with their friends. But this is as manipulative as it gets.

I’ve enjoyed some of Michael Winterbottom’s past films, such as Code 46 and 24 Hour Party People, but this is not so much an art house film. The closest comparison to anything he’s done previously would probably be the pseudo-documentary In This World (which I haven’t seen), but I think it’s safe to say that this is the most significant movie he has made so far in his career. You can refute the story and the motivation for this movie all you want, but you can’t deny the skill with which it was made, and the importance of the issues. In my opinion, it is simply must-see material. — Sean