The Mauritanian Movie Review

The movie is about a Mauritanian man Mohamedou Slahi (Tahar Rahim)winning a scholarship to study in Germany .However he gets captured by American law enforcement on fake charges of terrorist activity and complicity in the 9/11 bombings. The story is about his imprisonment ,trial release from prison and life after prison.

He spends 14 years as comeuppance at Guantanamo Bay in Cuba. He is represented by lawyer Nancy Hollander (Jodie Foster) who goes through his case files and finds out he has been charged without evidence and fights to prove his innocence. She is assisted by Teri Duncan(Shailene Woodley) a young associate working alongside her. Lt Colonel Stuart Couch(Benedict Cumberbatch), a marine prosecutor, is assigned the case of Slahi by his superior officer to litigate against him. At the end both Hollander and Couch read Slahi’s letter and case file congruently detailing torture and abuse inflicted on him under duress by U.S Army guards to implicate him in the crime. In the end Slahi is released and returns to Mauritania.

The performances of Rahim and Foster are impeccable and mirror fiction with reality. The performances of other cast members are also top notch. The music and score of the film is beautifully juxtaposed with the scenery and plot of the movie. The direction is excellent but the editing and length of the film is a bit superfluous. The language (English, French, Arabic)barriers are broken and relationships of Guantanamo detainees is highlighted perfectly.