Standard Operating Procedure
Rated R
Running time: 1 hr 56 mins
Mikey @ The Movies Official Rating:
**** out of *****
Subject Material:
Errol Morris examines the incidents of abuse and torture of suspected terrorists at the hands of U.S. forces at the Abu Ghraib prison.
MY REVIEW
I'd like to start with a warning. This documentary is NOT for the faint of heart or for those who have weak stomachs. This movie depicts through interviews, re-enactments and a lot of photos, the events that occurred at the Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq in 2003 and 2004. Probably one of the most notorious and infamous events of the war. Now I honestly don't have a lot of knowledge stored in my head about the war, or even about the torture at Abu Ghraib, but this film filled me in on the things I needed to know about what happened. Quite frankly, I'm disgusted.
I agree that we must do whatever to protect the lives of Americans, but I feel like this severely crossed the line. Half of the prisoners these young US soldiers subjected to torture and humiliation were innocent! A lot of them were just cab drivers, or really just nothing at all in the grand scheme of things. But they were all treated the same. They were all stripped naked. They all had feed sacks tied over their heads. They were handcuffed in awkward positions to their beds or jail cell doors. These things in effect were not bad compared to what happened later on. Prisoners were tied to each other in sexual positions. They were forced to form into a human pyramid, completely naked. They were forced to sexually gratify themselves as the soldiers pointed and laughed. They were punched. They were poked and prodded in their "private areas" with sticks. This to me went way beyond torture.
I don't like torture, call me old fashioned. It's cruel and unusual and when we do it, we are no better than these scum who kill Americans. This film depicted what bullies we Americans are. Now obviously this isn't some playground fight, this is Americans being killed here. I'm aware of how serious and dangerous the situation actually is. What I mean is that we apparently feel that when push comes to shove, shove back and with fifty times the force. Yes the people who killed us and injured us deserve to punished...but like this?? I would think we would still want to look good in the World's eye. I would assume we would want to be equal with the World, not consider ourselves better. That's such an awful, cocky, sick attitude but that's what America has seemed to become. Not just on a grand scale, but on individual basis too. Come on, we HAVE to be better than that!
Anyway, this movie is excellent. It is all told through interviews and pictures popping up on screen. Every once in a while we get a blurred re-enactment of a particular horrific event that happened there. A picture is really worth 1000 words, and these pictures tell a terrifying story of many words. You feel bad for some of the people involved because really they did nothing wrong. They simply were in the wrong place at the worst time. Others who were interviewed acted as if they did nothing wrong, but the pictures clearly show a different story. A woman took a picture next to a dead prisoner and she had a big smile and her thumb was up. She made excuses like she never knows what to do with her hands in a photo...come on. You knew what you were doing. Point being though, we get a very good perspective on both sides of the story.
This film was incredibly shot and very engaging. I could not take my eyes off the TV. It's a very shocking film, and like I said not for people with a weak stomach. You see everything. You see nude men head to toe. You see men bloodied and bruised. You see these men gratifying themselves. It is not a pretty sight. Do not watch this film if you are even slightly uncomfortable by even a little bit of graphic imagery. I had a hard time watching some scenes, and I think my jaw may have dropped one or two times. But if you can stomach a film like this, I urge you to watch it, it really is an eye opening film.
I agree that we must do whatever to protect the lives of Americans, but I feel like this severely crossed the line. Half of the prisoners these young US soldiers subjected to torture and humiliation were innocent! A lot of them were just cab drivers, or really just nothing at all in the grand scheme of things. But they were all treated the same. They were all stripped naked. They all had feed sacks tied over their heads. They were handcuffed in awkward positions to their beds or jail cell doors. These things in effect were not bad compared to what happened later on. Prisoners were tied to each other in sexual positions. They were forced to form into a human pyramid, completely naked. They were forced to sexually gratify themselves as the soldiers pointed and laughed. They were punched. They were poked and prodded in their "private areas" with sticks. This to me went way beyond torture.
I don't like torture, call me old fashioned. It's cruel and unusual and when we do it, we are no better than these scum who kill Americans. This film depicted what bullies we Americans are. Now obviously this isn't some playground fight, this is Americans being killed here. I'm aware of how serious and dangerous the situation actually is. What I mean is that we apparently feel that when push comes to shove, shove back and with fifty times the force. Yes the people who killed us and injured us deserve to punished...but like this?? I would think we would still want to look good in the World's eye. I would assume we would want to be equal with the World, not consider ourselves better. That's such an awful, cocky, sick attitude but that's what America has seemed to become. Not just on a grand scale, but on individual basis too. Come on, we HAVE to be better than that!
Anyway, this movie is excellent. It is all told through interviews and pictures popping up on screen. Every once in a while we get a blurred re-enactment of a particular horrific event that happened there. A picture is really worth 1000 words, and these pictures tell a terrifying story of many words. You feel bad for some of the people involved because really they did nothing wrong. They simply were in the wrong place at the worst time. Others who were interviewed acted as if they did nothing wrong, but the pictures clearly show a different story. A woman took a picture next to a dead prisoner and she had a big smile and her thumb was up. She made excuses like she never knows what to do with her hands in a photo...come on. You knew what you were doing. Point being though, we get a very good perspective on both sides of the story.
This film was incredibly shot and very engaging. I could not take my eyes off the TV. It's a very shocking film, and like I said not for people with a weak stomach. You see everything. You see nude men head to toe. You see men bloodied and bruised. You see these men gratifying themselves. It is not a pretty sight. Do not watch this film if you are even slightly uncomfortable by even a little bit of graphic imagery. I had a hard time watching some scenes, and I think my jaw may have dropped one or two times. But if you can stomach a film like this, I urge you to watch it, it really is an eye opening film.
To View this films trailer, click this link: SOP
*This is the 157th new film I've seen and reviewed this year.
*This film is now on DVD.
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