The War Within

I had the pleasure of catching The War Within at Toronto last week. It's a deeply striking movie. We all knew it was a matter of time until a movie of this type was made, but no one expected it to be good. Who wants to see a terrorist movie? In this case, we all should. They've created an experience that accurately portrays contemporary ideologies, frightening circumstance, and consequence. The movie grips you from the beginning and holds you. While the stakes are obviously high, it's the character study that makes an impression. To a watch a terrorist, rooted in Islamic fundamentalism, come face to face with the culture and the people he's declared war on is amazing. The complexity of Hassan's situation: the spectrum of his past and division of his present forces the audience to analyze his decision.

For such a candid movie, it leaves us with questions. Fortunately, it's the questions we need to ask.