{"id":22254,"date":"2021-02-28T16:08:33","date_gmt":"2021-03-01T00:08:33","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.cinemastance.com\/?p=22254"},"modified":"2021-02-28T16:08:33","modified_gmt":"2021-03-01T00:08:33","slug":"the-mauritanian-recounts-a-horrifying-ordeal","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/?p=22254","title":{"rendered":"THE MAURITANIAN Recounts a Horrifying Ordeal"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/www.cinemastance.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/01\/24_0008_B-merged.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-10493\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>This feature from STXfilms debuts On Demand everywhere\nMarch 2<sup>nd<\/sup>, 2021.&nbsp; <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Based on a true story, the new drama <em>The Mauritanian<\/em> involves\nan African man who was arrested in his home town, passed to United States\nofficials and detained in Guantanamo Bay for more than 14 years. All of this occurred\nwithout a criminal charge ever being levied against him. Admittedly, some of this\nearnest drama\u2019s courtroom procedurals don\u2019t offer new or dynamic cinematic storytelling\ntechniques. However, the numerous hardships this person was forced to endure\nwithout justification make this a tale worth telling.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/www.cinemastance.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/mauritanian-04.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-22256\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Mohamedou Ould Slahi (Tahar Rahim) is the Mauritanian, a man who disappears after being removed from a family celebration. Taken by local police for questioning in the attacks on September 11<sup>th<\/sup>, Slahi finds himself being given to Jordanian authorities and then to US Interrogators. It is soon alleged that he was member of al Qaeda and took part in coordinating the attacks. The protagonist is secretly moved to Gauntanamo Bay to be tortured by captors. Years later, Slahi manages to write a letter to US attorneys Nancy Hollander (Jodie Foster) and Teri Duncan (Shailene Woodley). After the defense team look into the case, they decide to fight for his release. Concerned, the US government assigns prosecutor Stuart Couch (Benedict Cumberbatch) to convict Slahi. This stern lawyer is unflinching in his desire to win, but even he is troubled by disturbing anomalies and falsified evidence in the case files.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/www.cinemastance.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/mauritanian-02-1024x512.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-22257\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The screenplay focuses a large portion of its time with attorneys\nHollander and Duncan and their gradual uncovering of events, which makes sense\nas a technique to slowly unveil Slahi\u2019s story to viewers. All of the actors are\nvery strong and the material itself is decent. However, there is an unavoidable\nformality to some of the legal proceedings, with the narrative playing out in a\nfamiliar manner. It also takes the audience away from Slahi himself and his awful\nordeal. At least one of the story\u2019s interesting tangents is the character of Couch,\na military man who lost a close friend in the September 11<sup>th<\/sup> attacks.\nHis character slowly pivots as he becomes confused by superiors hiding details from\nhim. It is interesting to see the attorney change from a conservative prosecutor\ndetermined to put the defendant away to a man doubting the validity of his own\ncharges. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/www.cinemastance.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/mauritanian-05.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-22258\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Obviously, it\u2019s Rahim who is the film\u2019s standout. Slahi is\ntaken out of the blue and, over the course of more than a decade, viewers see some\nof the indignities forced upon him. As time progresses, we witness the toll this\nabuse takes on his sanity and how being in such a mental state can drain any prisoner\nof hope. When the filmmakers focus specifically on the prisoner, the film is at\nits most effective. Viewers empathize with his plight and the terror of not knowing\nwhat is happening or whom he can trust. The role requires an incredible range\nand the performer expertly handles the job.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">On a technical level, the Guantanamo Bay sets are also impressive.\nDespite being surrounded by the beach and ocean, the facility, fences and\nmilitary officials lend a foreboding feeling to the proceedings. Additionally,\nthe sterile and blank interiors emphasize the unpleasantness of the prison and display\njust how isolated and locked off the building is from the rest of the word. It is\ntruly ominous and helps audiences understand what a horrible place it is.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/www.cinemastance.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/mauritanian-06-1024x585.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-22259\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">So, while there aren\u2019t a great many surprises in the story\nitself, the performances are excellent, particularly from the detainee as he finds\nhimself in a seemingly unending ordeal. The message is also important,\nreminding one that while hundreds of detainees are still incarcerated at this\nsite, few have ever been charged with committing any kind of crime. In the end,\nit makes an effective case for shutting down these barbarous techniques and the\nlocation itself. As a result, <em>The Mauritanian<\/em> is a sometimes stiff but admirable\ndrama for its attempts to bring a deplorable situation to light.&nbsp;&nbsp; <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>This feature from STXfilms debuts On Demand everywhere March 2nd, 2021.&nbsp; Based on a true story, the new drama The Mauritanian involves an African man who was arrested in his home town, passed to United States officials and detained in Guantanamo Bay for more than 14 years. All of this occurred without a criminal charge [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":22255,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[206,2548,2789,4831,6251,8695,10758,13965,14135,19512,21561,21562,21563,21564,23321],"class_list":["post-22254","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-movie-reviews","tag-206","tag-benedict-cumberbatch","tag-biopic","tag-courtroom-drama","tag-drama","tag-guantanamo-bay","tag-jodie-foster","tag-military","tag-mohamedou-ould-slahi","tag-tahar-rahim","tag-the-mauritanian","tag-the-mauritanian-film-review","tag-the-mauritanian-movie-review","tag-the-mauritanian-review","tag-true-story"],"blocksy_meta":{"styles_descriptor":{"styles":{"desktop":"","tablet":"","mobile":""},"google_fonts":[],"version":8}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22254","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=22254"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22254\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=22254"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=22254"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=22254"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}