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The term 'rendition' is a euphemism for state-sponsored kidnapping, just as 'waterboarding' is a euphemism for torture and the vile 'collateral damage' means civilian casualties. Kidnap, torture and the murder of innocents is what the bad guys do. You cannot carry out these acts and claim to be the good guys. Anyone who says it is 'naive' to think so is feeble-minded.
Thematically, this film doesn't work because it thinks there is an argument to be had on this topic. The filmmakers think it has to be argued through, but I can't see any educated person having their mind changed by a Hollywood dramatization. The issue is covered in such a shallow manner that this film could easily be called Rendition for Dummies.
Considered in purely dramatic terms, the acting is high quality, as you would expect from a stellar cast, though the stand out is the little-known Zineb Oukach as love-struck Fatima in an ill-fated relationship with one of her father's political opponents. There is a looping time-line a la Pulp Fiction that seems out of place given the charged themes. There is also a sense that the 'bad guys' get their comeuppance, which, given the fact that we are living through these issues and they are far from resolved, is premature at best and insulting at worst.
I was left with a sense that some issues are best served by being considered with the benefit of distance and hindsight.
score 5/10
CountZero313 2 April 2011
Reprint: https://www.imdb.com/review/rw2407562/ |
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30-3-2021 01:08:05