The War Within review

To a man who has nothing, sacrifice is easy. In the course of The War Within, Hassan (Ayad Akhtar) learns what he has already lost, what he might yet gain, and what his religious beliefs compel him to sacrifice as a determined suicide bomber targeting New York’s Grand Central Station. Writer/Director Joseph Castelo and cowriter Akhtar never allow their richly shot HD film to stray from its ultimate goal of investigating a complex and compelling real-life drama that is developing on front pages every morning. Resolution of the debates on global terrorism and its links to America’s excessive lifestyle and shady alliances would be too optimistic, but that doesn’t prevent Castelo and Akhtar from allowing both sides (if we hesitantly agree to polarize the issue so simply) an opportunity to present their arguments. Nor do the writers allow the film to degenerate into an episode of NPR’s “Left, Right, & Center” No, the mostly Pakistani characters, whose speech toggles between fluent English, French, and Urdu, offer true arguments, heated, passionate, not too well-reasoned, and never enough to change opinions. They do not solve the problem. They do not save the world. Nor could they be expected to. After all, humanity has just begun to understand what threatens us. If anything, The War Within acts as a platform for dialogue about a family, a global family, in denial and therefore at war. We are not expected to feel sympathy for terrorists, but we must recognize Bush’s summation of their motives, “Because they hate freedom,” as entirely inadequate. See this movie not for a perfect solution, but for a perfect dramatization of a terrifying problem. – by MW

Grade: A

The War Within

NY Opening 9/30

West Coast 10/7

Nationwide: 10/14

Cast: Ayad Akhtar, Firdous Bamji, Nandana Sen

Director: Joseph Castelo

MPAA Rating: R, for language and violence

Runtime: 100 minutes

Release Company: Magnolia Pictures.

www.magpictures.com