Gerald Wright's Movie Coverage
STANDARD OPERATING PROCEDURE MOVIE REVIEW
Directed by: Errol Morris
Running time: 117 minutes
Release date: April 25, 2008
Genre: Documentary
Distributor: Sony Pictures Classics & Participant Productions
MPAA Rating: R
The Abu Ghraib (Abu Ghurayb) prison scandal of 2004 brought to light the horrific torture and murders of detainees imprisoned at that facility by means of pictures and tapes. This event is still relevant today.
The shocking photographs of then are now given public access, but there are questions that need to be answered. Did the evidence show the real culprits or is it are real cover-up by the American military and its leaders? Is it really these low ranked military people who took it upon themselves to commit such abusive and inhumane crimes? Why is there interrogation tapes missing from Abu Zubaydah? This film exposes the real life participants in this shocking fact of life and death.
To understand the facts, you must understand the facility. The Abu Ghraib (Abu Ghurayb) prison, located approximately 20 miles west of Baghdad, is where Saddam Kammai (who was head of the Special Security Organization of Saddam Hussein era) oversaw the torture and execution of thousands of political prisoners in 1980s. The facility occupies 280 acres with over 4 kilometers of security perimeter and 24 guard towers. It is virtually a city within a city with very high walls. Cells measured approximately four meters by four meters and held an average of 40 persons. As of 2001, this prison held as many as 15,000 persons, many of who were subject to torture. They were citizens of Iranian origin who were detained without charge for 2 decades. Many of them were used as subjects in Saddam Hussein's experimental chemical and biological weapon test programs. After the capture of Hussein, the prison was reported deserted following the amnesty. However, many prisoners remained unaccounted for. In 2003, Brigadier Gen. Janis Karpinski assumed command of the 800th MP Brigade overseeing the 372nd MP Company.
The 372nd MP Company is the military squad of Spec. Sabrina Harman whose photographs of the prisoner "Taxi Cab Driver" shows a man shackled to his bed with underwear on his head. The same squad where Pvt. 1st Class Lynndie England, Spec. Harman, Staff Sgt. Frederick, Sgt. Davis, Spec. Megan Ambuhl, Spec. Sivits and the ring leader Cpl. Charles Graner took pictures of seven prisoners they made to strip naked and form a human pyramid and force them to simulate and to perform sex acts on each other. These are some of the onscreen participants in the film. They are asked to explain their actions and the reasons why and what compelled them to act in this manner. Surprisingly, most of them seemed apologetic. But the most carefree of them was Lynndie England, who became pregnant by Cpl. Charles Graner (who married Spec. Megan Ambuhl). The blunt and impersonal statements give real insight in the nature of how American values became so compromised.
Watching this film will raise many questions on the systematic military order of policies.
FILM RATING (A) |
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