by rick grant rickgrant01@comcast.net
A Rated R 100 min
This edgy docudrama captures the chaos, clamor, and confusion of Karachi, Pakistan in January 2002. Mariane Pearl is coping with her pregnancy while exhausting every effort to find her kidnapped husband, Daniel Pearl. In this sea of humanity filled with dark shadows, Daniel Pearl is being held captive, a pawn in a psychotic fundamentalist Muslim’s “jihad.”
Based on Mariane Pearl’s book, director Michael Winterbottom has recreated the trauma and desperation of the search for Daniel by a cadre of Pakistani investigators, the FBI, a State Department security agent, Randall Bennett (Will Patton), and Daniel’s colleagues at the Wall Street Journal. The Pakistani government was embarrassed by the high profile kidnapping and desperately wanted to end the crisis. Even the Secretary of State, then Colin Powell, got involved to free Daniel.
The entire scenario required an actress to get inside Mariane’s head and deliver a convincing performance. Indeed, Angelina Jolie’s portrayal is riveting. She channeled Mariane’s emotional pain and delivered one of the most awe-inspiring characterizations in film history. Her skillful method acting helps the viewer understand the depth of Mariane’s emotional trauma while keeping her composure to help the many investigators who had descended on her friend Asta’s (Archie Panjabi) house, which was turned into the Find Daniel group headquarters.
Mariane and Daniel were both journalists working on in-depth stories of the post 9/11 Pakistani turmoil, where the Taliban fled after American and coalition forces achieved victory in Afghanistan. Daniel was pursuing an interview with a cleric associated with Al Qaeda. The fact that Daniel was Jewish was not a secret and probably contributed to his being kidnapped.
The splinter group that kidnapped Daniel wanted their operatives released from Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. Of course, the United States was not going to give in to their demands. A quiet unofficial chain of diplomatic contacts were established to negotiate Daniel’s release. However, it proved futile to negotiate with crazed killers whose fanatical beliefs had driven them stark raving mad with overzealous indignation.
Amid the noise of Karachi’s crowded streets, the Pakistani investigators traced the telephone numbers of the suspects, which led them to various safe houses that they promptly raided. But they were always a day behind the kidnappers. The FBI agent sent to work with the Pakistani police used every resource at their command to find Daniel. It was an impressive international effort.
The crisis was rapidly building to a tragic end and everyone was frustrated by their failure to find Daniel. There were false alarms that sent the investigators to morgues to see bodies that were not Daniel. Finally, to the team’s horror, they received a video with Daniel’s beheading on the tape. Clearly, this horrific scene was not faked and Daniel was dead. Now they had to tell Mariane, who, when she found out, used her Buddhist belief in primal screaming to let out her initial shock.
This story is Mariane’s journey through the darkness to give birth to her son and overcome her grief. Her commitment to chronicling the truth about the war on terrorism helped her write the book and reflect on the dangers of being a journalist in places like Karachi, Pakistan. Her love for Daniel and her strength of spirit guided her through this catastrophe to emerge on the other side with Daniel’s spirit and love melded into her soul.
In a poignant scene toward the end, Mariane tells a television interviewer, “Yes, Daniel’s death was tragic, but many innocent civilians have died at the hands of these terrorists, and their families are equally upset. I will dedicate my life to telling their stories to bring the truth to the world. Daniel always told the truth, and it cost him his life. Now I will take up his cause.”
Using gritty documentary techniques, Winterbottom puts the viewer onto the streets of Karachi– a teeming mass of humanity where it would seem impossible to find one person. But the Pakistani investigators did a remarkable job tracking down the perpetrators. Sadly, it was too late for Daniel. Ironically, the terrorist who masterminded the kidnapping of Daniel to free his associates from Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, ended up there himself. A fitting punishment.
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EU Critic’s Choice Awards
