I always make an effort to try and watch all films that win big during Awards Season in most years, when it comes to documentaries I am perhaps not as up to date, nevertheless, I am glad I took the time to watch this one. Basically in December 2002, an Afghan peanut farmer named Dilawar, who gave up farming to become a taxi driver, he and three passengers were arrested by US military officials, accused of organising an attack on Camp Salerno. Dilawar, an innocent man, was held in extrajudicial detention and interrogated at the Parwan Detention Facility at Bagram Air Base. He spent several days being tortured and beaten by US military prison guards, including multiple attacks on his thighs, a standard technique viewed as "permissible" and non-life-threatening. Following these severe attacks, Dilawar died in prison, most likely caused by a blood clot due to his injuries, his official death certificate passed, with his body, to his family was marked "homicide". The film explores the background of increasingly sanctioned "torture" since the 9/11 attacks, questioning and examining contemporary democracy, and the methods of the US military to interrogate suspect terrorists. It turns out that the guards, soldiers and other staff members of these prisons have disgusting motives, there have been reported and photographed incidents of prisoners being severely beaten and humiliated, stripped naked, forced to masturbate, deliberately scared, including with loud noises, such as vicious dogs barking, and much more unbelievable things. It is also shocking that when these incidents have been reported to the authorities, and go as far as reaching government officials, including the President of the United States (then George W. Bush), they are dismissed as procedures sanctioned by both the White House and the Pentagon, so no justice was done for a significant amount of time. The conclusion of this film is that the murder of Dilawar was exposed by the New York Times, those who murdered him were prosecuted, the body was taken back to Afghanistan, and more strict rules on interrogation are being employed. When you watch this film, you are absolutely appalled by the lack of decency shown by the prison staff, many even posing for photographs during their gross actions, it really does show the horrors of the "war on terror", with interviews from detainees, politicians and soldiers who have experienced these incidents for themselves, a powerful and provocative documentary. It won the Oscar for Best Documentary Feature. Good!
Review of Taxi to the Dark Side
