Featured Audience Ratings

• Lorenzo v

  
  <i>"In 2002, a young cab driver picked up a few passengers near his home in Afghanistan... He never returned."</i> An in-depth look at the torture practices of the United States in Afghanistan, Iraq and Guantanamo Bay, focusing on an innocent taxi driver in… More
  <i>"In 2002, a young cab driver picked up a few passengers near his home in Afghanistan... He never returned."</i> An in-depth look at the torture practices of the United States in Afghanistan, Iraq and Guantanamo Bay, focusing on an innocent taxi driver in Afghanistan who was tortured and killed in 2002. <center><font size=+2 face="Century Schoolbook"><b><u>REVIEW</u></b></font></center> Too few have heard of Dilawar. Those who have will probably never forget him. Alex Gibney certainly will not. His latest film starts and ends with this poor innocent taxi driver who, in 2002, was taken to the Bagram airbase in Afghanistan. Five days later, he was dead. Dilawar's death was the spark which ultimately led to the international awareness of what the Bush administration was doing to its detainees in the war on terror. Gibney's film, however, decides to look up the tree, not down, to discover who was really responsible for these unpleasant developments. Gibney's film is bolstered by frank and interesting interviews with some of the troops on the ground. Their remorse is clear, as is their disgust. And disgust is the right word. This is, by no means, an easy watch. The use of the appalling footage which has been generated by the recent conflicts is necessary because, if anyone is in any doubt about how morally reprehensible these tactics are, this film will make it abundantly clear. However, this film's real strength is the structure of its attack on the tactics that are employed. Gibney demonstrates that the tactics used are hopelessly inadequate and never yield effective information. There is a cutting and brilliant comparison with the old techniques and the new where an interviewee, a former FBI interrogator, uses his old tools of interrogation ? words ? and you can feel yourself being persuaded. This is not just a polemic. It is a human story and a powerful and well-constructed argument. It should be essential viewing as what has happened at Guantanamo, Bagram and Abu Ghraib should never be forgotten. This is excellent, important film-making.

• Steve K

  
  Persuasive film about military conduct and the ideologies that led to the torturing and eventual death of one man in particular, and how his story is a microcosm for what led to the Abu Ghraib scandal. Powerful material, to be sure, and the one man's tragic tale is affecting,… More
  Persuasive film about military conduct and the ideologies that led to the torturing and eventual death of one man in particular, and how his story is a microcosm for what led to the Abu Ghraib scandal. Powerful material, to be sure, and the one man's tragic tale is affecting, but at the same time the film often feels one sided in it's presentation. For all the sanctimonious attitude, it never really offers up suggested solutions or alternatives for these complex problems. Nor does it differentiate between innocent prisoners and the guilty ones. By the end of the film, I felt there was no way of avoiding this scenario in the future. Cheery thought from any angle.

• Sarah G

  
  Possibly one of the best documentaries that I've seen in a long while. well researched and not biased in anyway....and will leave you feeling a little pissed at what the Bush administration allowed to happen. More to follow soon....

• Luke B

  
  This is an excellent documentary built on hard facts. It shows the outrageous lengths that the US will go to and how damaging and tragic their methods can be. It's also a saddening depiction of how when the shit finally hits the fan it lands on those at the bottom of the ladder.… More
  This is an excellent documentary built on hard facts. It shows the outrageous lengths that the US will go to and how damaging and tragic their methods can be. It's also a saddening depiction of how when the shit finally hits the fan it lands on those at the bottom of the ladder. Decent soldiers with too little training thrust into very violent situations. It also gives a glimpse of the president that John McCain could have been, had he not given into pressures from those in charge. Deserved it's Oscar.

• Daniel H

  
  Despite its name and apparent focus, this movie uses the single atrocity of an Afghani taxi driver unjustly jailed, tortured and killed as a springboard into the entire military incarceration system during in the last 10 years. Limited yet lucid (though occasionally one-sided)… More
  Despite its name and apparent focus, this movie uses the single atrocity of an Afghani taxi driver unjustly jailed, tortured and killed as a springboard into the entire military incarceration system during in the last 10 years. Limited yet lucid (though occasionally one-sided) interviews reveal significant context behind the all-too-familiar Abu Ghraib "scandal." Given the vast scope of the Iraq-Afghan conflict, this film fits perfectly in with its peers in highlighting specific parts of a much wider war with little partisan namecalling or sabre-rattling... and thus doing sober justice to its subject.

• El Hombre I

  
  This is a film that needs to be seen by as broad an audience as possible. The subject matter will reverberate through history. America has developed a culture of guilty-as-charged, hysterical attacks on imagined enemies. The Bush administration continue to make themselves seem… More
  This is a film that needs to be seen by as broad an audience as possible. The subject matter will reverberate through history. America has developed a culture of guilty-as-charged, hysterical attacks on imagined enemies. The Bush administration continue to make themselves seem utterly incompetent and much like they belong in this axis of evil themselves. Morals and principals truly only mean something when they are tested and inconvenient. <a href="http://s273.photobucket.com/albums/jj203/goji9000/?action=view¤t=taxiToTheDarkSide.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i273.photobucket.com/albums/jj203/goji9000/taxiToTheDarkSide.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>

• Gordon A

  
  Thoughtfully provocative look at American attitudes to torture after 9/11. Rightly graphic in parts, it chases blame to the highest levels but as with Gibney's film about Enron, shows the decision makers wriggle free. Informative if a little depressing.

• Stella D

  
  deeply researched and highly disturbing look at how the american government subverted the constitution and our highest principles as well as the geneva convention and international law by condoning torture of detainees at bagram, abu ghraib and gitmo. a few front line soldiers were… More
  deeply researched and highly disturbing look at how the american government subverted the constitution and our highest principles as well as the geneva convention and international law by condoning torture of detainees at bagram, abu ghraib and gitmo. a few front line soldiers were scapegoated while the brass protected their ass as usual. alex gibney, who also made the excellent enron: the smartest guys in the room, traces the breakdown of command back to the highest levels of the bush administration. the way justice has been perverted in the name of national security in this country is shameful. that's all i have to say "Voice or no voice, the people can always be brought to the bidding of the leaders. This is easy. All you have to do is tell them they are being attacked, and denounce the pacifists for lack of patriotism and exposing the country to danger. It works the same in every country." Hermann Goering

• Nate Z

  
  [CENTER][img]http://img300.imageshack.us/img300/6748/photo02hiresuk3.jpg[/img][/CENTER] [COLOR=DarkRed][FONT=Arial]Just like he did in 2005's excellent documentary [I]Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room[/I], filmmaker Alex Gibney is able to distill a complex topic into a… More
  [CENTER][img]http://img300.imageshack.us/img300/6748/photo02hiresuk3.jpg[/img][/CENTER] [COLOR=DarkRed][FONT=Arial]Just like he did in 2005's excellent documentary [I]Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room[/I], filmmaker Alex Gibney is able to distill a complex topic into a coherent argument. His Oscar-winning documentary [I]Taxi to the Dark Side[/I] looks deep into the repugnant state of justice after 9/11 and the Bush Administration's disregard for the law. It's decidedly uncomfortable and upsetting, but Gibney's film should be essential viewing for everyone to fully understand what questionable lessons we are sending out to the world under the guise of winning the indefinite War on Terror. In late 2002, Dilawar drove two passengers out of town in his taxi. He was stopped at an Afghan militia checkpoint and he and his passengers were turned over to the U.S. military. The Afghan militia leader accused the trio of being responsible for rocket attacks against U.S. forces (In reality, the militia leader was responsible and just turning over innocent men to make inroads with military personnel). Dilawar was sent to Bagram prison where he was subjected to sleep deprivation, physical abuse, and made to stand for hours on end handcuffed to the ceiling. He died after two days in custody. The military coroner ruled that Dilawar's death was a homicide. The report was swept under the rug until a New York Times journalist went searching for answers. The official who instigated the "interrogation techniques" was rewarded and sent to teach her harsh brand of degrading interrogation to another prison - Abu Ghraib. I think we all know how well that turned out. Like [I]No End in Sight[/I], which Gibney also produced, the film benefits enormously by staying away from brash finger pointing and hysterics. It slowly assembles its methodical case using hard evidence, like the prison coroner's report and declassified memos, and a bevy of interviews from the people who were on the frontlines and behind the scenes in Washington. Gibney builds a devastating case that left me sick to my stomach and overwhelmed with the urge to weep. [I]Taxi to the Dark Side[/I] is a powerful and masterfully assembled indictment on how far the United States of America has slid from its moral high ground. I felt sorry for the numerous innocent men plucked from their homes and tortured. I felt sorry for the soldiers being pressured to get results fast and through whatever creative means only to be turned into patsies by a government looking to pin "a few bad apples." I felt intense shame in my own government condoning degrading and humiliating practices that stretch the legal definition of torture. And I felt burning anger at the realization that President Bush had tucked away a little provision in a bill signed into law that stated no officials in his administration could be tried for war crimes. The soldiers on the ground who followed orders set out by those officials, however, were fair game. Bush pardoned himself! Gibney uses Dilawar's story as a framing device that broadens the scope of the film. He explores the whole nature of torture and the questionable tactics our government and military have engaged in since 9/11 in the name of keeping the country safe. But as the film continues on we still remember Dilawar. His death casts a pall that hangs over the entire running time that serves as a potent rejoinder to any interview clip or TV segment where officials dismiss the severity of torture techniques (Secretary of Defense Rumsfeld scribbled on one memo complaining that he stands many hours a day, so how could this be torture). Thankfully, the film also comes back to Dilawar during the closing moments to draw out the man's humanity and shine a closer look at the personal cost of such illegal practices. It's sad and shocking that well over 90 percent of the prisoners in Guantanamo Bay and U.S. coalition prisons were turned in by locals for money. Who knows however many innocent men like Dilawar are imprisoned without any path to see a court (recent Supreme Court rulings have said that detainees do have a right to contest their imprisonment in U.S. courts). &#8232;&#8232; What is all too evident is that Bush administration officials were establishing a hazy and vague definition of torture on purpose. This of course had the benefit of not linking their names to illegal practices that could lead to war crimes. This also made sure there was no set guideline for interrogation and detention. Without any guidelines and rules the soldiers were expected to get results with no oversight. It doesn't take a genius to figure out that being isolated in a foreign country and surrounded by a culture of machismo is going to breed cruelty if there is no enforcement of law. The U.S. skirted the Geneva Conventions by denying suspects any rights and saying they could be detained, without charge, for the rest of their lives. Vice President Cheney proudly declares that the enemy plays dirty and therefore America has to resort to the same dirty tactics. One soldier recounts a mentally handicapped prisoner who officials kept swearing was just putting on an act. "This is the new cover for al-Qaeda," they were told even as the man ate his own feces. I'm sorry, but my country should be morally above whomever we deem an enemy. The "he started it" defense does not register for me. But perhaps the biggest non moral related sticking point is that torture is notorious for not generating factual claims. When someone is being tortured they will say whatever to make the situation cease, and this includes fabricating tales about terrorists and an Iraq link to 9/11. Instead of verifying and corroborating these confessions, the interrogators jot them down as fact, send them to the brass above, and that's how the U.S. produced sources that said Saddam Hussein and Osama bin Ladin share a friendship bracelet and have brunch on Tuesdays. Even if you do not object to torture on moral grounds, and I pity you if you cannot, then a thinking person should at least object to torture on the very basis that it does not work. It produces bad intelligence, false intelligence, and in a rush to conflict that can yield terrible and far-reaching ramifications (six years in Iraq and counting, insurgent recruitment rising, the erosion of the U.S.'s standing over the world). The ends clearly do not even approach justifying the means. After detainee abuses, President Bush declared to TV reporters that, "The United States doesn't torture." The asterisk to that declaration is that the U.S. rejects the internationally agreed upon definition of torture and will decide what constitutes torture, and even then we'll just outsource it to countries that will torture. [I]Taxi to the Dark Side[/I] is a sobering and powerful film that will serve as an important reminder for generations to come about the damning evidence of torture. The film is presented with clam and precise logic but it still manages to eradicate any argument that torture is acceptable under the right circumstances (advocates like to cite the idea of a ticking bomb and a suspect who knows the location). One interview says it all. He's an FBI interrogator for over 20 years, and he says that to glean workable intelligence you don't beat someone and make them fear you; you make them like you. You play "good cop" not "insane cop," and you will gather actionable, verifiable, helpful intelligence and you have nothing to feel guilty over. If only the current administration had more men with such clarity and moral fiber. Nate's Grade: A[/FONT][/COLOR]

• Walter M

  
  "Taxi to the Dark Side" is a highly insightful documentary that starts with the relatively simple incident of an Afghan taxi driver dying in custody at Bagram Army Base on December 5, 2002. While by now we may think we know most of what we can about torture and detainee… More
  "Taxi to the Dark Side" is a highly insightful documentary that starts with the relatively simple incident of an Afghan taxi driver dying in custody at Bagram Army Base on December 5, 2002. While by now we may think we know most of what we can about torture and detainee abuses in the 21st century, the movie does a highly effective and disturbing job of connecting the dots, first by connecting the abuses at Bagram, first exposed by a pair of intrepid New York Times reporters, to the abuses at Abu Ghraib. This proves that they did not just happen in a vacuum and were systematic in function, being the result of orders coming from the very top which would override any moral qualms the soldiers might have by dehumanizing their prisoners.(In the resulting investigations, only enlisted men would be charged with crimes.) This would also include Guantanamo Bay where prisoners have been held without trial and access to habeas corpus and lawyers which are some of the cornerstones of a free society. It is not just the causes that interest director Alex Gibney so much but also the effects down the road. Because prisoners are routinely tortured, any information gathered will most likely be either useless or outright lies, with grave results possible. There is an example of friendly interrogation given by an experienced interrogator which proves how truly effective this approach would be by comparison. In the end, a lot of people who would have been sympathetic to the United States may now be susceptible to being fanaticized and we can already see some of this happening.

• John B

  
  A valuable addition to the canon of documentaries centred on the Afghan war. Here is the sad tale of a man in the wrong place at the wrong time..trying to eek out a living in a war torn environment and ultimately paying a price for it.

• Alec B

  
  I became ill watching this, which was the intended effect. Its one-sided, but honestly does the other side deserve a voice?

• Andrew F

  
  A really interesting look at torture that is never dull.

• Sarah P

  
  I thought it was great at showing what actually happens when we illegally torture human beings as a nation. It was extremely graphic which I think is what people need to see to hit home. Something everyone should watch...

• Audrey L

  
  I've watched this three times now and it has got to be one of the finest docs I've ever seen. A chilling indictment of the Bush administration's war on terror and use of "enhanced interrogation techniques" (gag) on enemy captives. Not an easy watch but a must… More
  I've watched this three times now and it has got to be one of the finest docs I've ever seen. A chilling indictment of the Bush administration's war on terror and use of "enhanced interrogation techniques" (gag) on enemy captives. Not an easy watch but a must watch-a socially significant and horrifying glimpse into the policies/procedures of those 3 war criminals-Bush,Cheney and Rumsfeld...

• Ivan D

  
  Bar none, one of the most powerful documentaries out there, it dealt with the torture techniques used during interrogations of suspected terrorists, techniques that can be compared to Marquis de Sade's perverted writings, and portrayed the Bush administration as a Pontius… More
  Bar none, one of the most powerful documentaries out there, it dealt with the torture techniques used during interrogations of suspected terrorists, techniques that can be compared to Marquis de Sade's perverted writings, and portrayed the Bush administration as a Pontius Pilate-like figure, capable of giving ultimate punishment, yet can come out unscathed and with clean hands. How could a nation of great ideals such as America not prevent such extreme measures? or was it simply a desperate attempt to achieve false vengeance because of 9/11? At times, the images were very shocking and unwatchable, but the thing that disturbed me was the soldier's description of Abu Ghraib, it indeed has engraved my mind the most. Although the majority of the film has fearlessly exposed terrifying truths, "Taxi to the Dark Side" settled itself with a more allegorical ending, as a cab departs from the terrains of Afghanistan, it has reached darkness in a place we never expected it to be: The streets of America itself.

• Wu C

  
  Another political doc. This one concerning the U.S's use of torture methods on arab prisoners.

Read all 17 featured audience ratings