The Truth is Exposed by THE MAURITANIAN

 

Jeri Jacquin

Coming to 4K Ultra HD, Bluray and Digital from director Kevin Macdonald and Universal Pictures Home Entertainment comes the story of a man known as THE MAURITANIAN.

Mohamedou Slahi (Tahar Rahim) has been captured and sent to Guantanamo Bay after the 9/11 attacks on America. He is not told what the charges against him are and lives day to day in a small cell. Nancy Hollander (Jodie Foster) decides to take on his case bringing Teri Duncan (Shailene Woodley) aboard. They head to Guantanamo detention camp to meet Mohamedou.

Their first meeting is tense as he does not have reason to trust two women he does not know. He listens to what they have to say and weighs his options quickly before agreeing to be represented by Hollander. What they do not yet know is that the government has enlisted the help of Lt. Colonel Stuart Couch (Benedict Cumberbatch) to prosecute the case. Couch had lost a friend so he is motivated by emotion.

Hollander tells Mohamedou that he must write down his life and what has happened to him. While that is happening, she and Duncan have gone through everything to be allowed to read all the paperwork since his capture only to discover the government has redacted almost everything. Couch is finding himself in the same predicament as to what Mohamedou was actually being charged with.

As both sides attempt to do their job, it is Mohamedou who relives his worst nightmares at Guantanamo Bay before being allowed to have his say in court.

Foster as Hollander believes in her client to a point. It is his word against the evidence that she has read so far but like most of Foster’s character roles, she keeps going until the answers are clear. This actress has always been at her best when taking on roles of injustice and gives it her own unique take and in this film, it is the same.

Slahi as Mohamedou is a man trying to come to terms with how he got to Guantanamo Bay and how close he came to those who were terrorists. That is how he ended up spending year after year in a place where the questions were the same and so were the answers. Slahi gives his character a bit of standoffishness but that makes perfect sense giving the life and death situation his character is in.

Cumberbatch as Lt. Col. Couch is a man of faith and when the case is brought to him, he thought of his friend who died on 9/11. As the case paperwork comes in, he sees things that are curious and questionable. He realizes that the government is using his friend’s death as a weapon in the conviction arsenal, but his faith would never allow that to happen.

Woodley as Duncan is a young lawyer who is thrilled to help with the case. She enjoys their visits and believes that the wrong done to their client should be made right. Doing everything she can to be part of the process, her beliefs are challenged, and she must make a decision that puts them all at odds.

Other cast includes David Fynn as Kent, Corey Johnson as Bill Seidel, Saamer Usmani as Arjun, Denis Menochet as Emmanuel and Zachary Levi as Neil Buckland.

Universal Pictures Home Entertainment has just added an amazing film to their library and making it available for us to all experience and re-experience in our own home theaters. There are films of every genre available from scary to drama to family films. For more of what they have to offer please visit www.uphe.com.

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The Bonus Features of THE MAURITANIAN are Alternate Opening, Deleted Scenes, Behind the Scenes of THE MAURITANIAN and more!

THE MAURITANIAN is a story of a man and the nightmare of Guantanamo Bay. The film dives into every aspect both legally and personally of his experience. At times his memories are disturbing and there are moments where he finds his own emotional and mental escape from everything around him.

At the suggestion of his lawyers, Slahi wrote a book in 2005 and Guantanamo Diary became an international best seller. It was his opportunity to share his experience and attempt to make people aware of what was happening.

In the end – he has a story that needed to be told!