The War Within (2005)

Directed by: Joseph Castelo | 90 minutes | drama, thriller | Actors: Ayad Akhtar, Firdous Bamji, Nandana Sen, Sarita Choudhury, Charles Daniel Sandoval, Varun Sriram, Anjeli Chapman

In ‘The War Within’ you are given a look inside the head of a Pakistani suicide bomber. In the tangle of clashing emotions, doubt prevails. Pakistani Hassan (Akhtar) has had a long journey. After he was arrested in Paris for his alleged membership of a terrorist cell, something snapped in the man’s head. Hassan flees France and decides to visit his childhood friend in America. This Sayeed is happy to see his old comrade and takes him into his family. Sayeed does not know that Hassan is no longer the same and that he has dark ideas.

‘The War Within’ shows how people can derail. After being badly beaten for no reason, something breaks in Hassan’s head. The once caring man turns into an introverted terrorist. Akhtar’s innocent aura makes the drama even more convincing than it already is. The acting and the intense atmosphere are of great class, so that ‘The War Within’ never falls into a weak melodrama. Every now and then the director can’t help but let his characters speak beautiful sentences about how beautiful America is, but they forgive him. The film has its heart in the right place and the understated acting and strong tension keep the film going and interesting. The tight direction and the human approach of a highly controversial and sensitive theme complete it.

Director Joseph Castelo has made a courageous, but above all beautiful film. The fact that the film doesn’t take sides is quite nice. There are no heroes and villains. Only losers. The intelligent and mature way in which Hassan’s agony is portrayed commands respect. Castelo doesn’t justify anything and doesn’t seal his film with text either. Image and sound speak for themselves.