This evening we were invited out to the Los Angeles premiere of the new documentary “The Prisoner or: How I Planned To Kill Tony Blair“. The story behind the movie is a very simple one… an Iraqi journalist and his brothers are falsely accused of planning to assassinate British Prime Minister Tony Blair and sent to various US military prison camps where he endured some of the most horrible conditions imaginable, watching friends die, for 9 months without ever being given an explanation as to why he was there or whatever evidence they supposedly had against him.
On the surface, some people may mistakenly think that this is some kind of anti-war movie, and perhaps on a couple of levels a quiet anti-war message is a by-product of the story… but NEVER the point or the reason for the story. This is just an amazing story about a man and his ordeal plain and simple.
The documentary is a refreshing one in the sense that it doesn’t feel the need to flash you with constant images in an attempt to keep you interested. For the most part the whole film is just this man, sitting down and telling his story. The film let the subject (this man) tell the story, instead of relying on reenactments or flashy animated sequences. Just some simple graphics here and there, and some superimposed text. Other than that, it’s just Yunis Khatayer Abbas (that’s the guy’s name) telling his story. And the story, is gripping.
Doug and I both loved this film for what it was, and I think you will too. A moving, attention grabbing tale that most of us would rather stick our heads in the sand about and ignore. It’s opening in LA this week, but it’s already available to put in your Netflix list. Do it! You won’t be disapointed.
(The Picture is of John with the film’s directors Petra Epperlein and Michael Tucker)
For those of you who are interested, here is the trailer for “The Prisoner or: How I Planned To Kill Tony Blair”
