Since preview screenings are general presented at no cost the thought about ducking out at the last minute isn’t as big of a consideration. The Mauritanian is 1 of 2 screenings that I had this week and I actually did bow out of the first one. I also considered dropping this one too because even though it was a “true story”, I had no interest in a movie that was heavy-handed in its politics and telling me how to think.

I decided to give it a few minutes so see how it was going to play out before shutting it off. Well, I didn’t turn it off and watched the whole thing all the way through. It’s basically about a guy who is imprisoned at Guantanamo Bay for more than 10 years with no charges being brought against him. It would seem that there might have been some detail left out about his actual arrest but the story focuses on him being prosecuted for having a part in the 9/11 terrorist plot.

I will go to my grave feeling that everyone responsible needs to pay dearly for the killing of more than 3000 innocent lives that day. What I can’t go for is finding a fall guy and sentencing him for the crimes. If what is represented is true, his confession clearly is suspect and the method of obtaining it even more so. Forcing someone to do something means nothing and we never do find out if the character is truly innocent or guilty but the means used create a different conclusion to the story.

As with many movies that are at least based on true stories, the credits roll with images of the actual people, not the actors, in their life. This was also used effectively in All My Life, which I saw last week and highly recommend if you can find it.

Though there were parts that did come across as politically heavy, it made me think and that is what made this picture successful for me.