Preface: deals with some heavy American politics, sorry I am not the expert but please tell me if I got any of the facts wrong.
Took some time to gather my thoughts on The Mauritanian (2021), pretty sure this isn't a film appealing to the typical Hong Kong audience/ people not interested in modern American politics. It deals with very heavy topics and paints the US government as the bad guy (I am also very surprised how my parents were interested in some 左膠 leftist film). Here are some of my thoughts that are loosely related to the movie... some personal opinions involved, please don't get mad at me. Note that I will not be commenting on the techniques used/ itty bitty stuff of the film, this is NOT a review.
The Mauritanian is about a (Mauritanian) man locked in a US Cuban prison for 14 years without a single charge/ trial, for being distantly related to 911. A lawyer specified in criminal justice represents him in a trial to release him, while a colonel finds evidence to try to charge the guy (after imprisoning him for 7 years). The biggest takeaway I had with this film is about how the US gov uses fear and terror to make their "terrorists" pay for crimes they did not do. This film reminds me of the time when I was first exposed to left-leaning US politics, about how the Bush Administration used the PATRIOT Act to put the US army in Afghanistan post 911, killing, antagonizing innocent civilians, and overall controlling the narrative of Islamophobia and anti-terrorism. Remember ISIS from a few years back? It is a Terrorist group bred by the terrorism induced by the United States of America. In other words, they are using terrorism to fight the terrorism conspired by terrorists in the name of Anti-Terrorism. Who's the terrorist now?
I like how the tides have been shifted in American media in the way they portray the US government. Patriotism has always been a huge part of the American identity; I think Americans are still proud to be mf Americans. But as of lately, America has been disillusioned by the American Dream, the narrative of the American Glory. This film deals with the unjust treatment of Muslim countries and the incompetence of the US government, locking up a person for 14 years without charging, all because a) he is some Al Qaeda person's cousin and b) he took a phone call from Bin Laden's phone. Referring back to the point about the portrayal of America, one reason for this change is definitely because of the growing leftism in American pop culture, the narrative of questioning everything the government is doing, and what "America" the country represents. America, epitome of freedom and liberty? More like America, epitome of freedom and liberty on top of exploitation and control of others. This film makes you reflect about how behind the façade of "the greatest country in the world", America is a bully that has too much military power. One thing to note though, this film may be dramatizing and condensing a very complex story into a 2-hour film, so elements of storytelling and emotional moments may just be one part of a large narrative.
This is not just a "America bad Humanitarianism Justice good" movie though. Lemme ask you a question: with the category of putting-innocent-people-in-horrible-prison-camps-because-the-government-hates-you-for-something-you-didn't-do, how is the United States of America slightly better than the People's Republic of China? The answer: legal justice and transparency. In the film, Jodie Foster's character seeks to prove that her client had nothing to do with 911; the eventual result was the expose on exploitation in US prison camps. The truth eventually comes out, nobody is above the court of justice. I mean, at least they have this platform to seek justice, you take a look at sOME cERTAIN government and I don't even need to elaborate anymore. I guess I could extend this to my overall view on America. "Love well, whip well." You know how Republicans would use the argument of "if you hate this country so much why don't you move to somewhere else/ go back to your home country" against leftists/ angry immigrants? We are angry about a lot of issues in America, because we want America to change for the better. Your so-called "American values" does not work anymore; oh and btw the addition of the Bob Dylan song in the credits was spectacular. Yeah, a lot of people are dissatisfied with their country for different reasons. For America, those reasons are even more evident/ severe/ critical. But the thing is, we still live in the country because we have hope for the place.
The idea of religion and faith also comes into play in this film. There are two religions involved: Islam and Christianity. I was really moved by the way religion helped the prisoners with keeping the faith of being released one day, and the way the film portrayed the grace of faith is really beautiful. Come to think of it, imagine the willpower of sitting in prison for 14 years for something you have never done. The other side of this story, the colonel is a Christian man, he could not finish his job of charging the Mauritanian after learning what they have done to him. The part was crucial in seeing the change in his character, from being self-righteous of bringing justice to his friend (that died in 911), to realizing that as a Christian he could not frame someone a non-existent crime (which he confessed after being tortured). The change in his character was also quite touching to watch.
The last point I want to touch on about this film is the acting; Jodie Foster is a bestie baddie queen, she plays the girlboss lawyer role very well. Benefit Cosmetics' acting was also superb, his accent was better than Daniel Craig's. This film is not the best of the best, but it is definitely solid. I guess this is a review after all. I just wrote a 1.5k word essay just to tell you why I was moved by The Mauritanian, thanks for reading.