The Road To Guantanamo (2006)

86% of critics liked it
(95 reviews)
64% of users liked it
(26,569 ratings)

Winner of the Silver Bear at the 2006 Berlin Film Festival, The Road to Guantanamo, directed by Michael Winterbottom and Mat Whitecross, uses interviews, news footage, and reenactments to tell the story of the Tipton Three, young British men of Pakistani descent who were detained for over two years… More Winner of the Silver Bear at the 2006 Berlin Film Festival, The Road to Guantanamo, directed by Michael Winterbottom and Mat Whitecross, uses interviews, news footage, and reenactments to tell the story of the Tipton Three, young British men of Pakistani descent who were detained for over two years without charges at Guantanamo Bay by the American military. Shafiq (played by Riz Ahmed in the reenactments), Ruhel (Farhad Harun), Asif (Arfan Usman), and Monir (Waqar Siddiqui) traveled to Pakistan to take part in Asif's wedding to a Pakistani girl. Once in Pakistan, they hooked up with Zahid (Shahid Iqbal), Shafiq's cousin, and they all met in Karachi. There, they attended a mosque, where the imam urged worshipers to help those in need in Afghanistan, and where an inexpensive bus trip over the border was organized. Out of a sense of charity, or perhaps a naïve lust for adventure, the young men decided to travel to Afghanistan. The American bombing campaign begins shortly after they arrive. While trying to get back over the border, they find themselves in the Taliban stronghold of Konduz, where they are captured by the Northern Alliance during the Taliban surrender. At this point, Monir is separated from the group, and they never see him again. Shafiq, Ruhel, and Asif are brought to Sheberghan prison, where they are detained under miserable conditions, until the Americans discover that they are British. At that point, their journey to Guantanamo begins. Asif Iqbal, Ruhel Ahmed, and Shafiq Rasul describe their ordeal at the hands of American and British intelligence, who were determined to get them to confess their nonexistent links to Osama bin Laden and al-Qaeda, while the brutal scenes are reenacted onscreen. The Road to Guantanamo was shown at the 2006 Tribeca Film Festival. ~ Josh Ralske, Rovi

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Rating, Runtime: R, 1 hr. 35 min.
Directed By: Mat Whitecross, Michael Winterbottom
Genres: Documentary, Drama

In Theaters: Jun 23, 2006 Wide
On DVD: Oct 24, 2006
Studio: Roadside Attractions

Critic Reviews

Andrew O'Hehir, Salon.com
The Road to Guantánamo will drive you crazy, if you aren't crazy yet.
Carrie Rickey, Philadelphia Inquirer
While not an altogether convincing character study of the three detainees, Guantanamo is a nonetheless chilling indictment.
Robert Denerstein, Denver Rocky Mountain News
Offers a gripping rebuke of the way prisoners are treated at Guantanamo, even though it never entirely settles important questions about what the Tipton Three might have been up to.
Lisa Kennedy, Denver Post
Winterbottom's re-enactors do a persuasive job of depicting young men whose ad hoc decision to travel from Pakistan to Afghanistan put them solidly in the wrong-place/wrong-time category.
Bill Stamets, Chicago Sun-Times
A bracing docu-drama.
Colin Covert, 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 to bad people.
Emanuel Levy, EmanuelLevy.Com
Timely political documentary that resolves one set of issues while rsiaing others.
Fernando F. Croce, CinePassion
The director's slovenliness is a torture device of its own, but the grueling point is well taken
Cole Smithey, ColeSmithey.com
Director Michael Winterbottom brings us face-to-face with the national humiliation of Guantanamo prison where the Geneva Convention and legal protocol have been disposed of like the now-filthy rivers of our country.
Karina Longworth, Cinematical
If we ever felt like the soldiers and interrogators seen here were in any way human, Winterbottom and Whitecross' indictment of their behavior would hit twice as hard.
Christopher Campbell, Cinematical
An astonishing tale of survival, a kind of modern Odyssey with a touch of the old mistaken-identity scenario, presented in a pointedly discriminating first-person narrative.
Ted Murphy, Murphy's Movie Reviews
While THE ROAD TO GUANTÁNAMO treats the men's tales with respect, astute viewers will question the nature of the youths' visits.
Anton Bitel, Film4
Gripping, nightmarish, and at times bleakly funny, The Road To Guantánamo is far too important a personal testimony to go unheard.
Prairie Miller, WBAI Web Radio
Guided terror tour of US atrocity culture.
Pablo Villaca, Cinema em Cena
Forte sem jamais se tornar apelativo, é uma denúncia contundente que expõe, de forma inequívoca, os abusos, a crueldade e a arrogância atroz do governo norte-americano, cujos integrantes deveriam ser julgados por crimes de guerra.
Stuart Klawans, Nation
Until we get an accounting, let's be grateful we've got the docudrama.
Urban Cinefile Critics, Urban Cinefile
Road to Guantánamo is surprisingly confusing about how they got themselves captured %u2026 Perhaps the most astounding aspect of the story is the revelation that their experiences have helped them become better, stronger people
MaryAnn Johanson, Flick Filosopher
This is a horrifying movie, all the more so because it's true...
James Plath, Movie Metropolis
A compelling film that tells one side of what's been happening in Cuba.
Ed Gonzalez, Slant Magazine
Mat Whitecross and Michael Winterbottom's Road to Guantanamo is paved with dubious intentions.

Read all 21 critic reviews

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Featured Audience Ratings

Melvin W

Shafiq: 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… More
Shafiq: 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 Guantanamo is a disturbing and very well made docudrama about three friends from England who were imprisoned in Guantanamo. The film uses interviews with the actual people, along with new footage and reenactments of the events that took place. The movie is both sad and terrifying. To think about what those three went through and also about the others who had been wrongfully imprisoned there that we don't know about. Michael Winterbottom is an amazing director. This is up there with my favorite movie from him; A Mighty Heart. The way he weaves both the actual interviews and the reenactments together is great. The cast is actually pretty good. They make the situations and characters they are reenacting believable. This isn't a movie that you want to watch, but one that you need to watch. It's an important and well-made piece of filmmaking about The Tipton Three and the injustice they received at the hands of the United States Military.
Sophie B

It's incredible and really brings to light what went/goes on out there. People who you would think you can trust eg. the US and UK military and embassy workers, spinning lies just to get those poor men to "admit" they're involved with terrorist cells. It's… More
It's incredible and really brings to light what went/goes on out there. People who you would think you can trust eg. the US and UK military and embassy workers, spinning lies just to get those poor men to "admit" they're involved with terrorist cells. It's disgusting how they were treated in Guantanamo and even more disgusting how only an extremely small amount of detainees there ever go to trial and the fact that none were found guilty is just horrendous. I understand the military not believing what some of those men say but obviously a lot of them are honestly telling the truth and being coaxed into confessions.
Thomas J

Us Americans need to wake up as to what we are doing in the name of protecting ourselves from terrorist!! Are we becoming terrorist ourselves?
Walter M

[font=Century Gothic]"The Road to Guantanamo" is a documentary reconstruction about friends from Birmingham, England of Pakistani ancestry who venture to Pakistan in October 2001 for a wedding. At the start of American hostilities, they go to Afghanistan to help the Afghani… More
[font=Century Gothic]"The Road to Guantanamo" is a documentary reconstruction about friends from Birmingham, England of Pakistani ancestry who venture to Pakistan in October 2001 for a wedding. At the start of American hostilities, they go to Afghanistan to help the Afghani people but instead are caught up in the fighting and are captured by Northern Alliance fighters. That is only the beginning of their troubles...[/font] [font=Century Gothic][/font] [font=Century Gothic]"The Road to Guantanamo" is an important document for putting a human face on those imprisoned at Guantanamo Bay, the vast majority having never been charged with anything. This is an excellent look at the inhuman treatment the prisoners have suffered at the hands of the American authorities who are portrayed as not being interesting in guilt, innocence or intelligence gathered but in punishment. In conclusion, hopefully this film can be used at any possible future war crimes trial.[/font]
Panta O

I had no chance to see this movie at the Berlin Film Festival in 2006 (Winner), but I am doing it now... and I am glad I did it! Michael Winterbottom shows us a real culture of repression with always ready excuses from the US officials... Sad world we are living in... sad... Watch… More
I had no chance to see this movie at the Berlin Film Festival in 2006 (Winner), but I am doing it now... and I am glad I did it! Michael Winterbottom shows us a real culture of repression with always ready excuses from the US officials... Sad world we are living in... sad... Watch this movie to understand the world better!
Angela A

Harsh. I hate what I have seen of the American Military. I would be terrified to meet them in a war zone.