Arfan Usman, Christopher Fosh, Duane Henry

Michael Winterbottom combines fact and fiction in "The Road to Guantanamo" recounting the story of the Muslim men from Britain now known as the Tipton Three. In 2001 they set off for a wedding in Paki...( read more  read more... )stan, took a side trip to Afghanistan and were captured by the Northern Alliance, held at an American military camp and later shipped to Guantanamo. They remained imprisoned there for two years, until evidence emerged that they were still in Britain at the time they were accused of having been at a rally with Osama bin Laden.

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23,446 ratings

Critics

86% liked it

93 critics

R, 1 hr. 35 min.

Directed by: Mat Whitecross, Michael Winterbottom

Release Date: June 23, 2006

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DVD Release Date: October 24, 2006

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Flixster Reviews (906)


  • August 19, 2008
    [rapping] "My name's Shafiq Rasul, and I'm from Tipton, I tell them I ain't Taliban, but they don't wanna listen. You won't believe I just came out here, for my mate's wedding, do you? I never thought my ass, would be heading for Cuba."


    The Road to Guantánamo

    ...( read more)combines fact and fiction to create a staggering and riveting docu-drama that potently illustrates horrifying events currently transpiring in our present-day world. Its relevance to today's existing society is overwhelming. The film's directors won an award at the Berlin Film Festival of 2006 for their powerful illumination of the little-known happenings in that tiny corner of Cuba known as Guantánamo Bay. Presently the United States government has refused to shed light on their activities in Guantánamo Bay camps that contain hundreds of suspected terrorists still held without charge. On that note, the filmmakers must be commended for undertaking this subject matter and even presenting it from the perspective of the victims enduring the inhumane torture.

    Personally I feel that the world has witnessed enough American propaganda, and The Road to Guantánamo must be held in high admiration for depicting the American army as more brutal, unfair and callous. Even after this film's global release the United States government still refuses to tell their version of the story. Their pride means that they will never admit to being wrong, and will persist in accusing imprisoned detainees of crimes they didn't commit using forged evidence and faux testimonies. Furthermore, as the torture is carried out on the hopeless victims it appears that the soldiers enjoy their jobs...they take pleasure in verbally and physically abusing the prisoners. Their superiors as well commit atrocious actions, such as threatening a prisoner's entire family. Even when a prisoner's alibi clears them of all charges, they're still incarcerated unless they admit to being part of Bin Laden's Al Qaeda. Too long have we seen Muslims as the stereotyped villains in such American creations as TV's 24.

    Michael Winterbottom and Mat Whitecross' The Road to Guantánamo opens our eyes and demonstrates that Muslims aren't the evil terrorists we've been lead to believe that they are.
    Inspired by true events of British Muslims known as the Tipton Three, the directors create a dramatisation of the horrifying experiences of these young men inadvertently caught in the heart of the 'war on terror'. These aforementioned British Muslims travelled to Pakistan for a wedding and to visit their families. In the urge of idealism motivated by massive rallies, they travel into Afghanistan with intentions of assisting the war-torn country. They are eventually captured by the Northern Alliance who ultimately hand the prisoners over to the Americans. Before long they're shipped to the harsh camps of Guantánamo Bay. We follow their experiences as prisoners when they are forced to endure dreadful conditions. For two years they're held captive under false charges.

    For a moderately low-budget and low-key production, the creative team responsible for The Road to Guantánamo effectively complete their objective. The documentary-style approach is gritty and realistic. The scenes of torture and terrible conditions are relentless and profoundly effective. The editing, though, is what makes the film work so well. The re-enactments are edited together with actual news footage and interviews with the survivors. It lends the film a significant degree of credibility. The gritty camera techniques also place us in the action. Unfortunately the interviews occasionally remove us from the emotionally-straining happenings and the effect is weakened.

    It's also worth mentioning that the story of the young men until their capture is extraordinarily difficult to believe. All credibility is thrown to the wind when the protagonists continue travelling into the devastated country of Afghanistan despite looking like befuddled tourists constantly concerned about expenses. It's even less believable that they move closer to the fighting and combat even when they feel uncomfortable about it...I mean why don't they just turn around? They're putting their lives in significant danger for the sake of an adventure and because they believe they should help the Afghani people. Not good enough, because the character motivations aren't explored adequately. The events leading up to their capture move at too much of a brisk pace, for the most part leaving us confused and disorientated...wondering how they've moved from A to B. Things only settle down when they're incarcerated and we're compelled to empathise with them. Still, the terrific work behind the camera is almost enough to keep us believing the proceedings.

    On top of these production values, the acting is standard. Considering the low-budget origins the acting is quite impressive, however there always seemed to be something missing. With such wonderfully primed locations and filming techniques, it had the potential to be far more powerful. Even after saying that, the depictions of torture and the horrible conditions will haunt you due to the realism.

    Overall, The Road to Guantánamo is an important, confronting contemporary film that relentlessly depicts the horrible happenings in Guantánamo Bay. It's undeniable that the film was initially fairly controversial and it will continue to spark controversy. It's still unclear as to whether these events are actually true or if it was actually all a work of fiction. Nevertheless the brutal treatment of prisoners is convincing and staggering. If the filmmakers didn't injure the film's integrity in the opening 20 minutes, and if the acting was a little better, this could have been a superior film.
  • June 22, 2008
    Based on a true story, The Road to Guantanamo tells the story of the Tipton Three, three British citizens who were arrested in Afghanistan in early 2002. The three men- Ruhal Ahmed, Asif Iqbal, and Shafiq Rasul, were detained at Guantanamo Bay for two years. While detained they w...( read more)ere denied legal representation and experienced severe mistreatment and coercion under duress in attempts to solicit confessions. They were released in 2004 and have provided some of the best first hand accounts of what the government is doing to suspected low-level terrorists. The meat of the film, which is basically a fifty-minute montage, depicts members of the Tipton Three dragged before American interrogators where they are yelled at, sworn at, and belittled. They are thrown into dank cells, put into stressful positions, and kept in solitary confinement with confession to being a member of Al Qaeda the only means to relief. These are chilling scenes, and will cause extreme disturbance, as you will surely be imagining all the other innocent people who are put through similar treatment, and all of those still going through it.
  • June 13, 2007
    The film is difficult to watch at times but thanks to it's documentry style it works. Howeve it fails to capture the fear and horrors of Guantanamo Bay. It still makes you ashamed of George W. Bush's job as president. ("I can say that because I'm not famous enough for anyone to c...( read more)are.")
  • January 16, 2007
    A good docudrama (is it really?) that makes you wonder. Not the best of the genre but still disturbing and somewhat controverse.
  • August 29, 2006
    The ticket should be free to any american...
  • September 18, 2009
    Outstanding, shocking and disturbing documentary about the Tipton Three when they were held in Guananamo Bay. Although this is also part drama (fiction), its effect on people is the desired one. Do not let this go and witness some of the existent atrocities committed nowadays.
    ...( read more)
    63/100
  • July 21, 2009
    this actor duane henry is a woman beater a liar and a thief
  • June 15, 2009
    WEAK reason to go into Iraq, these guys deserved what they got. shoddy premise for a 'Human Rights' argument.
  • February 11, 2009
    Berlin Film Festival 06' Best Director
  • January 19, 2009
    Harsh. I hate what I have seen of the American Military. I would be terrified to meet them in a war zone.

Critic Reviews


July 6, 2006
Colin Covert, The Minneapolis Star Tribune

Your view of its accuracy depends entirely on how truthful you feel the narrators are. I found it easy to believe the general outlines of their stories. In times of war, bad things don't happen only t... full review

June 23, 2006
Joe Morgenstern, Wall Street Journal

Watching this mélange of journalism and dramatic license can be enthralling and maddening at the same time, because the ring of truth, which the film has, is not the same as the truth, which remains u... full review

June 23, 2006
Claudia Puig, USA Today

A riveting and disturbing documentary that falls short of greatness by not providing enough insight into the characters. full review

June 22, 2006
A.O. Scott, The New York Times

The Road to Guantanamo, based on the testimony of three British Muslims captured in Afghanistan in 2001, is a wrenching and dismaying account of cruelty and bureaucratic indifference.

June 19, 2006
David Edelstein, New York Magazine

In the Gitmo depicted by filmmakers Michael Winterbottom and Mat Whitecross, all prisoners, guilty and innocent, are treated with such systematic sadism that taking one's life is arguably a proportion... full review

View more The Road To Guantanamo reviews at RottenTomatoes.com

Comments


  • lildesigal
    July 19, 2006
    awwwwwwwww it's a really sad film, the muslims get punished for sumthin they did'nt do

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