The War Within (2005)

When we first see Hassan, he's chatting on his cell phone, discussing what movie to see with his friend that evening.

Then he's snatched off the street and out of that world forever. He's questioned and tortured by... terrorists? ...authorities? I'm not quite sure which. Whoever it was, though, was instrumental in turning this unburdened young man into a ball of righteous fervor. His roommate during his captivity is Khalid, who speaks of a "brotherhood," of which Hassan originally wants no part. When we next see Hassan, however, he's arriving in America in a shipping container and makes his way to the home of a childhood friend in Manhattan. There he lies low until it's time to strike with the brotherhood.

The title implies a mental tug of war, but the film makes Hassan so single-minded that it doesn't quite deliver. I needed to see him waver in his goal...but when the original plan is thwarted, it is he who forces a new one. I didn't hate him -- but neither could I really identify with him. I mean, it was understandable how a man might go from a state of "live and let live" to "godless heathens who should die like pigs," but believing and doing are two different things. I needed more mental anguish...it's scary to me that the film might be more accurate.

B