mistabobdobolina This story -- about a man radicalized into joining something like a cross between Al-Qaeda and the Muslim Brotherhood, committing to carrying out a suicide bombing, and living with a peaceful, modern Muslim family as he prepares to carry out the deed -- would have been tempting to play as a story of redemption (in fact other film treating similar subject matter, like "The Terrorist" have gone that route).I like that it doesn't take the easy way out. There's quite a lot to like about this film just generally, as a matter of fact. In the midst of the fog of facile nonsense that surrounds the War on Terror, it's a rare film that actually has the courage to treat the motivations for terrorism seriously alongside both its manifest evils, and the evils of those whose misdeeds radicalize the terrorists in the first place. Hassan, once an affable modern Muslim youth like his friends, comes back as a shadow (or an image in negative) of his former self after being kidnapped in France and sent off to a "black facility" to be tortured. The torture is shown sparingly, but vividly, never letting us forget what brought this man to this point.Yet it doesn't let terrorism off the hook either. It's telling that Hassan and his Brotherhood contacts have no really coherent strategic idea of what their planned attack is supposed to accomplish. For Hassan it's religious duty and martyrdom, a personal act of revenge and catharsis -- but he never seems to confront the disconnect between his act and any actual solution to the injustices he rages about. For him and his comrades the redemption of the act seems to be in its scale and bravura; confronted with the prospect of having to merely "blow themselves up on a bus like Palestinians," a scenario no less meaningless and self-defeating than their own plan but more obviously pathetic, they begin to come to pieces.Hassan is also distinctly and convincingly uncomfortable when faced with the modern, tolerant Islam of his friend Sayeed and his family, as if he fears being sapped of his purpose. But again the film avoids easy answers: Sayeed for his part senses something dark going on beneath his friend's newfound piety, but when he finally confirms his suspicions and calls the police, he -- realistically -- isn't rewarded by an encounter with storybook good guys. Instead he vanishes into the same black bag system that took Hassan, the cycle beginning all over again.Overall, a must-see film for anyone who wants to understand the nature of the "War on Terror."

Virginia_Farmboy After seeing "Paradise Now", I was interested to see another depiction of the life and motivation of a suicide bomber. "The War Within" was certainly a great dramatization of such a person. Hassan is "renditioned" and tortured, providing him with a target for his hate. He is fueled by religious fanaticism that surprises his friends and fellow Muslims. Firdous Bamji plays, in my opinion, the best role in the film, that of Sayeed. He is surprised at how his best friend could become such a "pious" and fanatic character, and tries and fails to convince Hassan that America has done some good for him and that he has integrated well into the West.The love story could have been expanded, but only for the purpose of showing how Hassan has repressed every emotion except hate. I also thought Sayeed's fate did not ring true, as it seems to me the screenwriters decided to have what happens to him happen only to further their point that the cycle of detention and terror will continue. I do not believe that, in reality, what happened to Sayeed would happen.Overall, an interesting dramatization of what motivates a suicide bomber, and also of Muslim-American life.

southerngirl222 I must admit I thought I was going to hate this movie. My ex boyfriend made me go see it. (Note the "Ex"!! :)). He's history but the movie has stayed with me. I don't know any Pakistanis. This movie opened my eyes. It felt real. The people, especially the family. The husband/father was really WONDERFUL. The scene where he watches his son being brainwashed by the terrorist (pretending he's teaching him how to pray but really filling his little head with all kinda hatred), made me want to SCREAM! That kind of subtle and quiet hatred is so frightening. It's like watching Osama. He seems so calm but you know underneath the skin is something that looks more like the creature from Alien. These guys were brave to make this movie. I really didn't understand why the father got taken away at the end, though. I mean he's the one that made the call, right? I think that was a little unrealistic and/or unfair (to the FBI). I do recommend every American go see this. Not so's you feel bad about being American. That's ridiculous. Just so's we get more perspective on what's going on today. And it's a movie that entertains as well as educates.

leilapostgrad I liked it so much because it is complex and doesn't give easy answers. The War Within starts out with an innocent man walking down the streets of Paris and talking on his cell phone. Out of nowhere, a group of men jump out of a black SUV, grab the man on his cell, throw him into the SUV, and ship him to a prison camp in Pakistan where he is then tortured for the next three years. And all this happens even before the opening credits.The man on his cell phone is named Hassan, and the men in the black SUV are American CIA agents who kidnap and torture Hassan because (we later learn) his brother lead a peaceful anti-war protest in Afghanistan. Three years later, after enough torture and abuse to drive any man crazy, Hassan is released from prison and travels to America to get his revenge. So clearly he's a bad guy, right? But then again, he was no threat to anyone before he was kidnapped, beaten, and tortured for three years. So then is America the bad guy? What makes The War Within so intelligent and so superb is that isn't a story about good guys and bad guys. It's a story about the mammoth "War on Terror" and how it affects a single group of Pakistani immigrants in New York. The only bad guys are the acts of violence themselves, and all sides of guilty of that. You absolutely have to see this exquisite character study and you have to tell everyone you know to see it, too.