The Oath (2010)
Abu Jandal in THE OATH, a film by Laura Poitras. A Zeitgeist Films release.
Producer:
Executive Producer:
- David Menschel
Editor:
Music:
Distributor:
* Most external filmography links go to The Internet Movie Database.
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Opened: 05/07/2010 Limited
| Schedule | 05/07/2010 | |
| IFC Center | 05/07/2010 - 05/27/2010 | 21 days |
| Sunset 5/LA | 05/21/2010 - 05/27/2010 | 7 days |
| DVD | 09/28/2010 |
Trailer: Click for trailer
Genre: Documentary
Rated: Unrated
Short Synopsis
From the director of the Oscar-nominated My Country, My Country, The Oath is a spectacularly gripping documentary that unspools like a great political thriller. It's the cross-cut tale of two men whose fateful meeting propelled them on divergent courses with Al-Qaeda, Osama bin Laden, 9/11, Guantanamo Bay Prison and the U.S. Supreme Court.
Abu Jandal is a taxi driver in Sana'a, Yemen; his brother-in-law Salim Hamdan is a Guantanamo prisoner and the first man to face the controversial military tribunals. Jandal and Hamdan's intertwined personal trajectories--how they became bin Laden's bodyguard and driver respectively--act as prisms that serve to explore and contextualize a world which has confounded Western media. As Hamdan's trial progresses, his military lawyers challenge fundamental flaws in the court system. The charismatic Jandal dialogues with his young son, Muslim students and journalists, and chillingly unveils the complex evolution of his belief system post-9/11. Winner of Best Documentary Cinematography at the 2010 Sundance Film Festival, The Oath offers a rare window into a hidden realm--and the international impact of the U.S. War on Terror.
WINNER - DOCUMENTARY COMPETITION - 2010 SARASOTA FILM FESTIVAL
WINNER - EXCELLENCE IN CINEMATOGRAPHY AWARD - U.S. DOCUMENTARY - 2010 SUNDANCE FILM FESTIVAL
Long Synopsis
THE OATH tells the story of Abu Jandal, Osama bin Laden's former bodyguard, and Salim Hamdan, a prisoner at Guantanamo Bay Prison and the first man to face the controversial military tribunals. Filmed in Yemen and Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, THE OATH is about two men whose fateful encounter in 1996 set them on a journey that would lead to Osama bin Laden, 9/11, Guantanamo Bay Prison, and the U.S. Supreme Court. The film begins as Salim Hamdan is set to face war crime charges at Guantanamo, and Abu Jandal is a free man who drives a taxi in Yemen.
We enter the story in a taxicab in Yemen. Here we meet Abu Jandal, the film's central protagonist, as he transports passengers through the chaotic streets of Yemen's capital city, Sana'a. Salim Hamdan is the film's "ghost" protagonist. He was arrested in Afghanistan shortly after 9/11 and taken to Guantanamo. His seven-year captivity at Guantanamo is narrated through his prison letters.
Abu Jandal met Salim Hamdan in 1996 outside a mosque in Yemen while looking for men to join him for jihad in Tajikistan. An orphan with a fourth grade education, Hamdan was drawn to the charismatic Abu Jandal. With the promise of work and friendship, Hamdan joined Abu Jandal.
Their journey took them to Afghanistan. Osama bin Laden had just relocated there from the Sudan and he invited the men to visit. Abu Jandal joined Al-Qaeda and became bin Laden's bodyguard and guesthouse emir. Salim Hamdan was hired as bin Laden's driver.
The second act of THE OATH takes us to Guantanamo, where Salim Hamdan's military tribunal unfolds. Hamdan's case is well known: In 2006, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in his favor in the landmark case of HAMDAN v. RUMSFELD. Hamdan's Supreme Court victory, however, did not lead to his release, but rather to Congress re-drafting the law on military tribunals and creating new charges to file against him.
The final act of THE OATH returns to Yemen and takes us inside the pivotal FBI interrogation of Abu Jandal conducted six days after 9/11. THE OATH concludes with the surprising outcome of Hamdan's tribunal and his return home to Yemen.
Through the story of Abu Jandal and Salim Hamdan, THE OATH offers American and western audiences a rare window into the world of Al Qadea, Osama bin Laden, Guantanamo Bay Prison, and the international impact of the United States' "War on Terror."
