Well, Saturday sure did see a lot of films on telly! The only one I ended up watching, though, sounded intriguing - Essential Killing follows the story of an escaped Taliban fighter, on the run in enemy territory.
And it is fascinating to see the story from his point of view! We get to see the brutality of the American troops, the verbal abuse, waterboarding.. and through the film, we also get a few flashbacks of his life before he became a fighter. The escape happens after an accident involving the van he's being transported in - he gets thrown clear, wriggles off into the undergrowth, and ultimately manages to sneak up on a policeman and grab his gun and car - with the gear to cut through his chains. And off he goes!
..through, eh, somewhere cold and snowy. (?) Turns out, upon reading up on it, it's Poland! I'd never realised, but yes, apparently they did practice rendition there. Anyway, it now becomes a survival journey, as he tries to survive the cold, while eluding his captors. And as the title implies, he kills when he must. He actually has no dialogue for the whole film - he refuses to talk to the military, and no-one else speaks his language. Basically intriguing film.. my only real quibble is the ending, which is so illogical that it must be metaphorical. As to what they're trying to say, though - your guess is as good as mine.
Tomorrow, back to film again, and back to Amazon Prime.. I had been thinking of Black Book, but on reflection, I do think that's the one I saw some years ago, and I don't feel like rewatching it. So I guess that brings me to The True Cost - a documentary about the impact of the fashion trade on the third world.
And next Saturday, I'm free to be back with London Social Detours again - this time, it's a talk about Sir Arthur Conan Doyle - always interesting.
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