Infidel

 

We've seen terrorist oriented films before and also inspirational ones as well, but when have we seen a combination of the two? Probably never that I can remember. This film is as riveting as it is uncomfortable anticipating two extreme beliefs colliding within the Middle East. It truly shows that all people aren't what a lot of people here seem to think they are. Oh, there's lots of baddies, but it also shows us a side to them we don't see on the news.

Doug Rawlins (Jim Caviezel), an outspoken American Christian blogger and journalist is kidnapped by members of the Iranian regime headed up by terrorist, Ramzi (Hal Ozsan) while in Cairo, Egypt on a talk show where the conversation, instigated by the host, turned into Rawlins telling them that although Jesus Christ was a good prophet, he was also the Son of God who came to earth to redeem mankind toward the creator, lest he be a liar. Rawlins is ultimately taken to Lebanon and put on trial for erroneous and phony spying charges. Rawlins' wife, Liz (Claudia Karvan), a State Department official, attempts to use her influence to persuade the American government to become involved to no avail. Since our government backs out of helping Rawlins escape, Liz is the forced to go to the Middle East to search for him herself.

Others to round out the cast are Stelio Savante as Doug's Iranian friend, Bijan Daneshmand as Dr. Houssein Tehrani, Isabelle Adriani as Maria Landi, J.R. Cacia as Sgt. Knebel, Hanna Jiryis as Agent Ardy, Nadeem Strouji as Larijani and Noor Taher as Meena.

This was rivetingly directed by Cyrus Nowrasteh ("Veiled Threat" '89, "The Island" '98, "The Day Reagan Was Shot" (TV movie) '01, "The Stoning of Soraya M." '08, "The Young Messiah" '16) plus TV. The way this filmmaker use the editing along with the ability to extract the fear, suspense and peril that he was able to get out of his actors was phenomenal. He's directed many political thrillers before, so he is right at home with this, however he is amazingly adept at it and this certainly showcases his ability in spades. It is also written by Nowrasteh ("Veiled Threat" '89, "The Interview" '95, "The Advocate's Devil" (TV movie) '97, "The Island" '98, "The Day Reagan Was Shot" (TV movie) '01, "10,000 Black Men Named George" (TV movie) '02, "The Stoning of Soraya M." '08, "The Young Messiah" '16) plus TV. This writer's ability to convey an intense and thrilling story is about as amazing as his directing ability. Although this is not based on a true story, it is based on true events, meaning, in this case, it's not based on an actual person as much as those who are and have been abducted and taken to the Middle East for reasons of espionage or something political or something else equally as bizarre. It starts as a flashback and then leads us back to the events that bring him to the horrendous situation he ends up experiencing. Other than a couple of very small areas that were a bit choppy, this script was spot on. 

Mind you, one truly has to be in a certain mood to be able to sit through this considering how violent and suspenseful it undoubtedly is. The performance by Caveizel was amazing. Certainly his role as Jesus Christ in Mel Gibson's 2005 "The Passion of the Christ" has got to be Caveizel's best performance to date, however this was delineated as well.

Out of 4 Stars: 3.5                                         Rated: R                                                  107mins.