For all of you who watched the Oscars last Sunday - which was not many, considering the record-low ratings - you may remember the Best Documentary category in which three of the five documentaries were about the current war in Iraq. While all were critically acclaimed, it's hard to argue with the winner, Alex Gibney's military torture documentary Taxi to the Dark Side.""
Although most people have heard the sound bites about waterboarding and seen the Abu Ghraib prison torture photos, nothing can prepare the viewer for the in-depth look Gibney takes at the U.S. torture policies in Afghanistan and Iraq and the terrible consequences these policies have had on those imprisoned at the various military prisons in the Middle East.
The film's title is derived from the case of an Afghan taxi driver named Dilawar, who died in 2002 at Bagram Air Base. As the documentary begins, the soldiers interviewed initially hesitate before opening up to the cameras, claiming Dilawar was a member of a terrorist plot, and they were justified in their treatment.
One soldier states he only recalls Dilawar as a body with a bag over its head. One soldier describes his expertise in mental and physical torture, while another lists the different ways soldiers were ordered to treat their inmates. As the soldiers realize how grisly their stories are, they defend themselves, saying their orders came straight from the top.
Even a week later, many of the images from this movie are still seared into my head. From a prisoner who bashes his head on the rock wall until it's a bloody mess, to the stomach-churning footage of soldiers forcing a prisoner to masturbate in front of them. One could feel a similar sensation watching the movie ""Teeth,"" but that over-the-top absurd horror-violence was fake, whereas this is very real. It's hard to put into words what this footage conveys, but anybody who sees this movie will certainly have second thoughts about the U.S. torture policy.
Juxtaposed with this footage is documentary footage from former Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, Justice Department lawyer John Yoo and others defending their calls to suspend the Geneva Convention and allow torturous treatments like waterboarding. Gibney's film covers a wide swath of people, even showing John McCain both today times and footage from his days of being a P.O.W..
Showing McCain brings a real sense of the present to the film. Many people recall the leaked photos from Abu Ghraib. There was media uproar, people were offended, but in time, people moved on. Gibney shows that this prevalent problem of unchecked torture is inhumane and immoral. And despite what the unaware public may think, this problem is not going away.
