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War Within, The
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MPAA RATING: Not Rated
Starring Ayad Akhtar, Firdous Bamji, Samrat Chakrabarti, Sarita Choudhury, Aasif Mandvi, Kamal Marayati, Mike McGlone, Nandana Sen, and Varun Sriram
The story of Hassan, a Pakistani engineering student in Paris who is apprehended by western intelligence services for suspected terrorist activities. After his interrogation, Hassan undergoes a radical transformation and embarks upon a terrorist mission, entering the United States to join a cell based in New York City. (Magnolia Pictures)
| GENRE(S): | Drama |
| WRITTEN BY: |
Ayad Akhtar
Joseph Castelo Tom Glynn |
| DIRECTED BY: | Joseph Castelo |
| RELEASE DATE: |
DVD: January 31, 2006 Theatrical: September 30, 2005 |
| RUNNING TIME: | 90 minutes, Color |
| ORIGIN: | USA |
All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...
The average user rating for this movie is 8.8 (out of 10) based on 5 User Votes
Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.
Chad S. gave it an8:
In the Choudhury's home, Hassan(Ayad Akhtar) is beseiged by nightmares of his malevolent interrogation and subsequent thrashing in Paris, where he was a mere student(apparently apolitical) who would walk and make plans to see a movie on his cell-phone. We already know this; it's how "The War Within begins(kidnapping, beatdown, first contact with a member of "the brotherhood"). What most of us want from this ever-timely film(as long as we're at war) are flashbacks that parcel out Hassad's transformation from a graduate student to a radical Islamic fundamentalist. Hassan is obviously ill-suited to be a mercenary for Allah; his achilles heel, a heart, is right there on his sleeve with Duri's name on it. He is so in love with her(Nandana Sen). We need to see his teachers and hear their rhetoric, because Hassan's faith in God(a politicized, not the historical Allah) will turn out to be his worst enemy, and not western civilization("I pledge allegiance to the flag of...). His hate for America is so all-encompassing, he'd rather die than slow dance with his best friend's sister to Bread(oh, wait; that's me). Integrity can indeed be a flaw; conversely, Khalid(Charles Daniel Sandoval) sells out his religion for "bad girls". His penis(or rather, his phallic epiphany) makes this compromised Islamic, a heretic(an anti-hero as opposed to hero because Khalid is just horny, not moral) who nevertheless, saves lives by happenstance. "The War Within" is thought-provoking, especially when Hassan indoctrinates Sayeed's son into the world of Islam by coordinating his religious training. In your mind, you'll wage a war between the self-awareness of not being ethnocentric and political incorrectness.
Gerry B. gave it a9:
I thought this was a better film than Paradise Now. Maybe that shows my own ignorance but I am a seasoned film viewer and seldom give ratings of 9 or 10.
judeha gave it a9:
The best movie i seen this year.
harold b. gave it an8:
Not a perfect movie, but its really intense and has one of the best endings I've ever seen. Lead actor and guy who plays Sahid are brilliant. This one should be be seen.
Stevie B. gave it a10:
I have to strongly disagree with some of these so-called critics who themselves display a shocking amount of ignorance not just about Islamic terrorism, but also the craft of making movies. The War Within was the best I have seen yet in terms of movies designed to answer post 9-11 questions.

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