Is there any image in the post 9/11 conspiracy drama genre more ubiquitous than heavily redacted legal files? Those black lines struck through word after word like blocks of thunder smothering all sense of intelligent life. They represent the hopeless struggle of men and women stolen from the world and suspended in a bureaucratic limbo that Kafka himself would find hard pressed to imagine. In Kevin Macdonald’s adaptation of
Guantanamo Diary by Mohamedou Ould Salahi,
The Mauritanian, we are confronted with 20,000 boxes worth.
Salahi was detained in Guantanamo Bay for 14 years, the victim of extraordinary rendition after the 9/11 attacks and then “special measures” ordered by Donald Rumsfeld in order to stop a second 9/11. He was subjected to 70 days of torture by military intelligence which included stress positions, visual protocols, waterboarding, sexual humiliation, and even a fake execution.
Let’s take a look at the stellar actors appearing in the movie.
Tahar Rahim as Mohmedou Ould Slahi
Actor Tahar Rahim attends Le Passe photocall during the 66th Annual Cannes Film Festival at the Palais des Festivals on May 17, 2013 in Cannes, France. (Getty Images)
Born in July 1981, Tahar Rahim is a French actor of Algerian descent. Rahim started his acting career in the movie ‘The 9/11 Commission Report’ in 2006. After featuring in a couple of projects, Rahim garnered universal acclaim for his acting in the movie ‘A Prophet’ in 2009. He played the role of Malik in the movie and won numerous accolades for the movie, including the prestigious Cesar Award for Best Actor.
USA TODAY
Yes, the notorious Guantanamo Bay Detention Camp actually has a nearby gift shop that sells branded merch such as T-shirts and coffee mugs, as seen in The Mauritanian.
The drama (in theaters now) stars Benedict Cumberbatch and Jodie Foster as opposing lawyers in the legal battle over Mohamedou Ould Slahi (played by Tahar Rahim), who was imprisoned by the U.S. government for 14 years without a trial at top-secret Gitmo.
Re-creating the detention camp in detail was a priority for director Kevin Macdonald in telling the often-harrowing true story. That was very important to me to get that as right as we possibly could. Because it was important to Mohamedou, says Macdonald. The one thing he said to me was, I want you to make Guantanamo feel like it really felt.