Camp X-Ray

"Give me Azkaban instead" "Is that one of the Arab books?"

This very first short and amazing conversation between the soldier Amy Cole and the intern Ali Amir starts something heartfelt all lasts all the way to the end.

"Camp Xray" is a complex movie with complex characters. Neither is good or bad, they're just ordinary people in difficult circumstances. Sometimes Amy and Ali are unsympathetic and sometimes they're the absolute opposite. They're human. At all these different times, their reactions are understandable.

It can be toxic to be in such a hyper masculine environment as the army. Especially as a woman. Or, in any working place with just male colleges, to be real. It affects us all, man or woman, but as a woman you may face sexism, be distrusted, not be acknowledged like your colleges, and not believed to be able to do your job as good as a man.

Kristen Stewart's character faces these things, and she's also conflicted between her army duties and her friendship with Ali, and their slow mutual understanding. There are several power imbalances - the male soldiers have power over Amy, and Amy has power over Ali, by the structures that our society exists by.

i love Kristen Stewart, and I think she gets too little credit for her acting. It might not be very variated, but she has a way of acting that is unlike other actors, something I cannot quite put my finger on. Many of her characters suffer in silence, and how she portrays that in this film works so well. She's just so great and convincing as Amy Cole.

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.

After watching "American Sniper" I swerved I would never again watch anything from USA related to their most recent military campaigns, cause I couldn't stand another buying false facts and fiction as a truth. But boy, this movie blew me away.

It does carry a strong message, it has to go a great lengths, it cant be too direct, but it delivers when it really matters.

Kristen in her recent works shows that she can act and that shes willing to do more artistically challenging titles now that shes done with that teen garbage.

But real star is Peyman Moaadi, heart-aching performance. Just brilliant.

Im still wondering how this movie happened, I truly believed that "American Sniper" defined what USA market want to see, judging by it Oscar nominations and positive reviews based only on patriotism.

Camp X-Ray is not at all apolitical as some of reviewers say - nah, it is political statement, cleverly submerged under story about human species, friendship and love.

Don't miss this one!

To my understanding this movie is about a human connection, which despite the unconducive circumstances can and should be made. Kristen Stewart is so young & unsophisticated here, that it makes her portrayal of a naive and innocent character very raw and touching.

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.