X
- 2021
- R
- STX Entertainment
- 2 h 9 m
- 2021
- R
- STX Entertainment
- 2 h 9 m
Summary Captured by the U.S. Government, Mohamedou Ould Slahi (Tahar Rahim) languishes in prison for years without charge or trial. Losing all hope, Slahi finds allies in defense attorney Nancy Hollander (Jodie Foster) and her associate Teri Duncan (Shailene Woodley). Together they face countless obstacles in a desperate pursuit for justice. The...
Directed By: Kevin Macdonald
- 2021
- R
- STX Entertainment
- 2 h 9 m
- 2021
- R
- STX Entertainment
- 2 h 9 m
The Mauritanian
53
7.3
Where to Watch
Summary Captured by the U.S. Government, Mohamedou Ould Slahi (Tahar Rahim) languishes in prison for years without charge or trial. Losing all hope, Slahi finds allies in defense attorney Nancy Hollander (Jodie Foster) and her associate Teri Duncan (Shailene Woodley). Together they face countless obstacles in a desperate pursuit for justice. The...
Directed By: Kevin Macdonald
Where to Watch
Top Cast
Metascore
Mixed or Average
Based on 35 Critic Reviews
53
37% Positive
13 Reviews
13 Reviews
63% Mixed
22 Reviews
22 Reviews
0% Negative
0 Reviews
0 Reviews
Metascore
Mixed or Average
Based on 35 Critic Reviews
53
37% Positive
13 Reviews
13 Reviews
63% Mixed
22 Reviews
22 Reviews
0% Negative
0 Reviews
0 Reviews
In the end, The Mauritanian is an efficient procedural that condemns the Bush-era treatment of detainees more effectively than any other recent narrative film. It’s an affecting, but nevertheless tragic, watch.
It’s not simply that it’s “too soon” for such movies. That’s highly debatable. More to the point is that the stark reality of these explosive events as we live through them – in the news, in real time, on TV and through investigative documentaries – potentially outflanks any attempt to dramatize them using embellished scenarios and famous actors.
User Score
Generally Favorable
Based on 95 User Ratings
7.3
73% Positive
69 Ratings
69 Ratings
22% Mixed
21 Ratings
21 Ratings
5% Negative
5 Ratings
5 Ratings
User Score
Generally Favorable
Based on 95 User Ratings
7.3
73% Positive
69 Ratings
69 Ratings
22% Mixed
21 Ratings
21 Ratings
5% Negative
5 Ratings
5 Ratings
Luckily, The Mauritanian, directed by Kevin Macdonald, gets one thing very right: Tahar Rahim’s masterful central performance. The French actor achieves something his big-name costars — Jodie Foster, Benedict Cumberbatch and Shailene Woodley — do not, presenting a multi-layered, subtly shaded and deeply moving portrayal that proves hard to forget.
Kevin Macdonald’s drama is determined to put a name and a face to the legion of largely anonymous casualties of the War on Terror — not the victims of attacks, but the other ones, i.e. mostly Middle Eastern men who, by some circumstantial evidence, slivers of association or maybe just their nationality, became wards of the state held in a perpetual purgatory.
It’s revealed that the evidence against Salahi, who admits only to training with the formerly CIA-backed Afghan mujahideen in an al-Qaeda camp back in the early ’90s, consists of summaries of reports and confessions, which neither side is supposed to see. But instead of rising to the challenge of such potentially abstract subject matter, the film opts for clichés: file boxes, lawyer talk over fast food, the classic confrontation in a poorly lit parking lot.
If The Mauritanian is a slight cut above so many of the pious and self-flagellating political thrillers that Hollywood churned out in the years after 9/11, that’s because it doesn’t aim to exorcise America’s guilt so much as it tries to use it as a necessary step on the road towards forgiveness.
This movie is content with congratulating itself for being on the right side of history, with little attention paid to questions unanswered and history unresolved.
I didn't know anything about the story and suddenly I bought the ticket. I have seen a lot film and in my opinion it's the best film in 2020 and 2021 till now ! I just shocked by this true story and performance of Tahar Rahim. I can't stop thinking about it , it had some problems but it had so much more great points that made me ignore little problems!
Report
admirable
[ ad-mer-uh-buhl ]
adjective
worthy of admiration; inspiring approval, reverence, or affection.
Report
While the story needed to be told and I support them shining light on such events, the movie itself felt boring at times. I mean it had very great moments too, but such movies, to make them more widely popular and not only for people already interested in such topic, then it lacks something
Report
(Mauro Lanari)
Why should a director who debuted in 2006 with "The Last King of Scotland" be interested in Guantanamo in 2021, after the films of his other colleagues on the same subject, from "Camp X-Ray" (Sattler 2014) to the recent "The Report" (Burns 2019)? I have the impression that Macdonald wanted to move from denouncing human civilisation to prison movie as its cinematographic emblem, ultimately this would be the deepest meaning of such a genre, but he proves too little incisive both in the metaphor and in the transposition of the true story.
Report
Another garbage Hollywood movie. While these criminals are awaiting trial, they get fed, given a bed, let out of their cell everyday to play soccer, and materials to pray with. Meanwhile, Americans and other people around the world were being beheaded or burnt alive by the Taliban. But oops, this movie forgot to show you that part. They do mention 9-11, but they dont remind you of how horrible that day was with video or remind you of how many lives were lost. Oops again. They make you try to feel sorry for this guy, who has connections with the Taliban and Bin Laden. Sorry, but I do not feel sorry for him in the least.
And Jodie Foster plays a lawyer that has been defending anti American criminals her whole career. What?? Why would she ever play a part like this? I have lost complete respect for her as an actress and will never watch another movie of hers again. Whoever thought this movie was a good idea should go join Bin Laden. So unless you hate America, the military, freedom, democracy, **** should skip this Hollywood garbage of a movie.
Report
Awards
Golden Globes, USA
• 1 Win & 2 Nominations
BAFTA Awards
• 5 Nominations
London Critics Circle Film Awards
• 3 Nominations
