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THE MAURITANIAN (IN THEATRES)

Admittedly, I had not heard of, nor read the book, “Guantanamo Diary” by Mohamedou Ould Salahi;  a portrait of endurance despite horrific odds; he was imprisoned for fourteen years, on the flimsy pretext of an affiliation with Osama Bin Laden, at Guantanamo Bay; he was never charged; Salhi is blazingly, percipiently depicted by French actor Tahar Rahim (“The Prophet”); maintaining his equanimity, aplomb throughout, his performance is the prime reason to visit the film. 

Directed by Kevin Macdonald, starring with Rahim: Jodie Foster as defense attorney Nancy Hollander, her associate Teri Duncan, Shailene Woodley, and Benedict Cumberbatch as Lt. Colonel Stuart Couch, the government’s prosecuting attorney; unfortunately the script allows little growth, with the exception of Rahim’s, in character development; Foster, always insightful and intelligent, is stifled in volumes of redacted material; Woodley is given short shrift; Cumberbatch rises above script limitations and scores as a disillusioned patriot.

In the end Salahi is a metaphor for the wrongs, torture and lawlessness executed, by Americans, at Guantanamo Bay. It was the “worst of times” and “The Mauritanian” guarantees its remembrance.

Two & ½ STARS!!

Peneflix

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