Camp X-Ray

Greetings from Lithuania.

"Camp X-Ray" (2014) is nothing very superb or original, but it's a nice drama. Set in kinda unique place, it lets the very simple story of a friendship. Story about friendship would be simple, except that it occurs between two people from different universes, but at the end they get attached by a simple humanity. This a well acted, directed and written drama, which won't going to win any Oscars, but it will do just fine for one evening.

Overall, "Camp X-Ray" is nicely done drama, set in a unique location and features old as the movies itself plot about friendship between two different people, who wins each others respect and friendship due to common acts on decency.

Moving and emotionally charged performances by both Stewart and Moaadi from beginning to end. I was completely surprised by the subject matter of Gitmo, expecting a political message as the underlying theme, but it turned out to be a study of humanity and relationships within extreme circumstances. Impressive directorial debut of Sattler.

Stewart plays guard Amy Cole, a young marine from a small town who joined the military to escape her life. The movie centers around the conflict of her growing relationship with a prisoner, Moaadi, who has been in Gitmo for eight years. Both actors do justice to the storyline and these complex characters without building caricatures of military and extremist personalities. I'm not one for heavy military story lines, but I was pleasantly surprised by this film's twist to the Gitmo plot with a narrow lens on the people, not the politics. It's not all heavy subject matter....Moaadi adds some appreciated humor. Bottom line: worth my time.

Camp X-Ray is one of those films that doesn't quite leave you after the credits roll. It wasn't what I was expecting and I was surprised the film didn't revolve around politics. The cinematography, the soundtrack, including the constant hum in the background all formed a very real atmosphere. Visually, Camp X-Ray is impressive, but the real essence of the film does lie in the characters. The acting is some of the best I've seen.

80% of the film takes place on opposite sides of a cell door. We catch a small glimpse through a small glass window, and yet this is enough to feel the chemistry between Peyman Moaadi and Kristen Stewart. I can't even begin to imagine the difficulty at capturing what they did through a window, but it appears effortless.

The characters are incredibly fleshed out and there are some small hints of this, such as a glimpse of Cole wearing socks with sandals. A personality statement in itself. It's all about the small things!

I do think a big part of why this film affected me so much is because of my age. I saw parts of Cole in myself.

She wants to make a difference, she's seeking a way to push herself and the army is a straight forward way of doing that. It pushes your limits, it goes against what women should really do, and by doing that you're trying to prove something within yourself. You're tougher and braver than you appear. Yet put in this situation, things aren't so straight forward or 'black and white' as she expresses. Life is so much more complicated, relationships develop, experiences happen that throw you off course.

Then there's the added uncertainty of everything, the frustration of not knowing, wondering whether this is right? Whether this is what you want to do? Whether it's okay to speak to this guy? Questioning what you have always been taught is right and wrong.

I do feel that a lot of films tend to portray women as tough, fearless and almost masculine, but underneath the tough front, I think we all really are vulnerable. There's no escaping that. It's easy to act like things are okay, to put on a tough front, to hide, but there's still always going to be that vulnerability...maybe it goes as you get older, I don't know.

In the end she discovers her way own way of making a difference, in a way that at the beginning of the film would have been unimaginable, and it just shows how much can change, how little we know, and how important it is to keep an open mind.

Overall, I was surprised. It wasn't the film I expected, but much, much more. You'll feel every emotion imaginable. It's the kind of film that takes everything you know, or think you know, stirs it all up and throws it back at you to figure out.

Everything about this film is commendable.

The movie itself was quite good and I think that it lives up to a 7.5 star rating. Now, as said before I enjoyed the film but do understand that for many (Including myself) it can be seen as a little to slow...Until arriving to the climax, which is absolutely great! The thing is, that we need to understand what this movie is really trying to portray. Its showing us the crude reality of how heartless and dehumanizing humanity can be through the eyes of Cole (Kristen Stewart) who starts to see how harsh things are and as said in the movie "it's not all so black and white". Kristen Stewart's acting was good but nothing out of the ordinary... I have to say that Maddi's performance was very good and really interprets the character by truly reflecting what Ali was feeling and displaying his desperation of having been in Guantanamo Bay for 8 years. To sum it up, the movie is good and quite the worthwhile. Be patient at the beginning cause it gets better and better as it progresses.'

This film affected me very deeply in a way I was not expecting.

Kristen Stewart and Peyman Moaadi deliver stunning performances which take your breathe away. You really feel for this guy and Stewart has never been more convincing. I thought it would be a stretch to imagine her as a tough soldier and it is kind of surreal yet she manages to create a credible person out of the role. Her emotional distress as the contradictions of her job as camp guard begin to overwhelm her, is very powerful and a pleasure to watch.

This film totally changed my mind about Gitmo. Just because it makes you realize the awful possibility that totally innocent people may be stuck there, and that unlike any other prison in the USA, there is no way for them to appeal or for anybody to appeal on their behalf.

There must be some way to allow mistakes to be corrected. It's not right.

It's amazing to me that I never saw it that way. I just assumed that they were all hard core bad guys. But what if they aren't.

That would be a terrible fate, and this film really punches home how terrible it would be.