The War Within (film)
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| The War Within | |
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 DVD cover for The War Within |
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| Directed by | Joseph Castelo |
| Produced by | Tom Glynn Jason Kliot Joana Vicente |
| Written by | Joseph Castelo Tom Glynn Ayad Akhtar |
| Starring | Ayad Aktar Firdous Bamji Nandana Sen |
| Distributed by | Magnolia Pictures |
| Release date(s) | September 30, 2005 (U.S.) DVD: January 31, 2006 |
| Running time | 119 min |
| Language | English |
| IMDb profile | |
The War Within is a film created by Honet Films, released in 2005 by Magnolia Pictures.
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[edit] Synopsis
The War Within is the story of Hassan, a Pakistani engineering student in Paris who is apprehended by American intelligence services for suspected terrorist activities. After his interrogation, Hassan undergoes a radical transformation and embarks upon a terrorist mission, surreptitiously entering the United States to join a cell based in New York City. After meticulous planning for an event of maximum devastation, all the members of the cell are arrested, except for Hassan and one other. With no alternative and nowhere else to turn, Hassan must rely on the hospitality of his former best friend Sayeed, who is living the American dream with his family in New Jersey. Deciding to go forward and carry out his own attack, Hassan takes advantage of Sayeed's generosity while plotting his strategy and amassing materials to create explosives. Eventually, Hassan's skewed religious fervor clashes with his feelings for Sayeed and his family, especially Sayeed's sister Duri.
[edit] Production Notes
[edit] Director's statement
When asked why I decided to make this movie, my response is always the same: In a world overwhelmed with fear, in a world wounded by horrific terrorist attacks, I can't imagine making any other film. Our fears are real. But they are compounded by a willful denial - on all sides of the fray - of understanding.
I understand the reluctance to extend sympathy to those who wish to do us harm. But I am a firm believer in the necessity and the power of empathy. Whereas a sympathetic portrayal would imply an affinity, either emotional or intellectual, with Hassan, our protagonist, an empathetic depiction implies a more complex and potentially enlightening dynamic: that of coming into an awareness of the experience of another.
By experiencing vicariously the feeling, thoughts, and experiences of Hassan is neither to condone nor to justify this experience or the conclusions he draws.
Our great philosopher, Ralph Waldo Emerson, once wrote:
- Great men, great nations, have […] been perceivers of the terror of life, and have manned themselves to face it.
- Without an understanding informed by empathy, we are not manned to face the new world in which we have found ourselves.
