Well Deserved Praise

This is a tender, generous movie that likes its characters and presents them as real people, full of flaws and strengths.

an ambitious but ultimately ineffective debut endeavor.

The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.

This story -- about a man radicalized into joining something like a cross between Al-Qaeda and the Muslim Brotherhood, committing to carrying out a suicide bombing, and living with a peaceful, modern Muslim family as he prepares to carry out the deed -- would have been tempting to play as a story of redemption (in fact other film treating similar subject matter, like "The Terrorist" have gone that route).I like that it doesn't take the easy way out. There's quite a lot to like about this film just generally, as a matter of fact. In the midst of the fog of facile nonsense that surrounds the War on Terror, it's a rare film that actually has the courage to treat the motivations for terrorism seriously alongside both its manifest evils, and the evils of those whose misdeeds radicalize the terrorists in the first place. Hassan, once an affable modern Muslim youth like his friends, comes back as a shadow (or an image in negative) of his former self after being kidnapped in France and sent off to a "black facility" to be tortured. The torture is shown sparingly, but vividly, never letting us forget what brought this man to this point.Yet it doesn't let terrorism off the hook either. It's telling that Hassan and his Brotherhood contacts have no really coherent strategic idea of what their planned attack is supposed to accomplish. For Hassan it's religious duty and martyrdom, a personal act of revenge and catharsis -- but he never seems to confront the disconnect between his act and any actual solution to the injustices he rages about. For him and his comrades the redemption of the act seems to be in its scale and bravura; confronted with the prospect of having to merely "blow themselves up on a bus like Palestinians," a scenario no less meaningless and self-defeating than their own plan but more obviously pathetic, they begin to come to pieces.Hassan is also distinctly and convincingly uncomfortable when faced with the modern, tolerant Islam of his friend Sayeed and his family, as if he fears being sapped of his purpose. But again the film avoids easy answers: Sayeed for his part senses something dark going on beneath his friend's newfound piety, but when he finally confirms his suspicions and calls the police, he -- realistically -- isn't rewarded by an encounter with storybook good guys. Instead he vanishes into the same black bag system that took Hassan, the cycle beginning all over again.Overall, a must-see film for anyone who wants to understand the nature of the "War on Terror."

This movie was scary and amazing. It made me realize that we are all immigrants in this beautiful country. And it made me proud to be an American. The Pakistani-American family in this movie are so beautiful. They looked beautiful and they made me feel like they could have been my own family. It made me wonder about my own friends. I can't comment on the politics. Some days I feel like I know exactly what my president is saying and I believe him. Some days I feel like I want to kick him. But whatever the truth is, as far as the politics goes, the bottom line is this movie showed the destruction of a beautiful family for no fault of theirs. And that was so compelling to watch. I highly recommend this movie for all Americans. It will make you remember that ALL our parents came over here to find something better for them and theirs.

This movie features the largest pile of crap I've ever seen piled in one place. None of the 19 Sept. 11 terrorists were abducted and beaten. They did it of their own free will. Same goes for the Madrid, Bali and London terrorists. To make it seem that the US is the cause of the terror problem shows a twisted logic so profound that in belies description.Islamic terrorists are not nice guys fighting for a gentle cause. They want the world ruled under Islamic law.The movies director plainly has stated during interviews that we should have empathy for these devils. Empathy for people who want to kill us for our religious affiliation? Empathy for people who kill fellow Muslims with no more compunction then one has squashing a bug.If the people the director wants to love into submission had their way, the director would find himself dead, along with the rest of the elitist Hollywood types who embody everything the terrorists hate about the West.

THE WAR WITHIN is a chilling and frightening tale of a Pakistani family torn between the "American dream" and the love and affection for a family member whose religious zeal and goal to destroy America will tear them apart. Joseph Castelo has directed and written a very important film which hopefully will receive a wide audience to educate Americans of the problems we live with today in a "post 9/11/01 United States of America".The film is a contrast between the world of terrorism, and the warmth of a family who attempt to make Hassan feel at home back in America, and to show him what this country has given them, and what America might also do for him, without giving up their Pakistani heritage, but wanting Hassan to adapt and fit in as they have done. And to live a happy and productive life.The final scenes are so dramatic and full of suspense and dread as you hope for a "Hollywood ending", only to find that Hassan's personal WAR WITHIN will lead to something else.America has always been a melting pot and a symbol of hope for those coming to our shores, THE WAR WITHIN is a wonderful example to show an audience that we must still look at diversity as a blessing for America, and not a curse. Thank you Joseph Castelo and Ayad Akhtar for this film.