Rendition

I feel like I've seen this story somewhere before. Every piece of the script seems to have fallen out of a different movie, where it was also better executed. And because you have a combo of The Constant Gardner, Vantage Point, or Babel all in the same place, along with an incomprehensible chronological arrangement, you end up just sifting in vain through the boring parts trying to find something you actually liked. As expected, Reese Witherspoon is the one thing that stands out, as I believe her character completely, and Jake Gyllenhaal effortlessly proves that he is a true acting chameleon. Sadly, two stars for a sterile exploration of relationships with Muslims that ultimately leads nowhere. (09/11/2008)

When a lunatic attacks you, your state is here to take care of you. The attacker will receive a penalty. When it's your dad who attacks you, who do you turn to afterward? This is actually a film about the classic "Quis custodiet ipsos custodes?" Who will guard the guards themselves? How far can the government go to obtain the truth? How can it treat people? Is torture still permitted? It’s a heavy topic that is sometimes very intense. In war, there is no presumption of innocence or humanity. Is that true? And are we actually still at war, after all? Well, not us, but the Americans. Clearly, wars can never get enough, and in this regard, I'd say the film doesn't exaggerate too much. After all, some of the news that gets out speaks for itself. Torture is still a tool for confession. Just like in the time of the Inquisition. I enjoy movies where you can purely hate the characters. This is one of them. A great idea: By torturing one person, you create countless more enemies. It's not a brilliant piece where everything works perfectly; the acting performances aren't particularly great (except Meryl, but she's always great), and the screenplay is sometimes unnecessarily stretched. However, thematically, it had a strong impact on me. (03/14/2014)