The Mauritanian (2021)

Directed by

Kevin Macdonald

Genre

prison film

Country

United Kingdom, United States

Runtime

2h 09m

Rated

R

Rating

7.4 of 10 from 1,304 voters

Elsewhere

IMDb

How it feels

A Mauritanian man is held without charge at Guantanamo Bay for years. His lawyer fights to prove his innocence.

tensesoberinggrittyrestrainedbleakintimateslow-burnclaustrophobic

What happens

The Mauritanian is a 2021 legal drama film based on the memoir of Mohamedou Ould Slahi, a Mauritanian man who was held from 2002 to 2016 without charge in the Guantanamo Bay detention camp, a United States military prison. The film was directed by Kevin Macdonald, based on a screenplay written by M.B. Traven, Rory Haines, and Sohrab Noshirvani, adapted from Slahi's 2015 memoir Guantánamo Diary. It stars Tahar Rahim as Slahi, and also features Jodie Foster, Shailene Woodley, Benedict Cumberbatch, and Zachary Levi in supporting roles. The Mauritanian was released in the United States on 12 February 2021 by STXfilms. In the United Kingdom, where all cinemas were closed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the planned cinema release was cancelled and the film was premiered on Amazon Prime Video on 1 April 2021. It received mixed to positive reviews, with critics praising Macdonald's direction, its cinematography and the performances of the cast (particularly of Rahim and Foster) but criticising its screenplay. At the 78th Golden Globe Awards the film received two nominations; Best Actor – Motion Picture Drama (for Rahim), with Foster winning Best Supporting Actress – Motion Picture. At the 74th British Academy Film Awards the film received five nominations, including Best Film, Outstanding British Film, and Best Actor (for Rahim). (from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA)

Trailer

More like this

• Five Years (2013)
• Alive Alone
• Guantanamo Diary
• The Hill (1965)
• Wasteman (2025)
• Time (2021)
• Guilty (2011)
• Dog Pound (2010)