Politics at the movies

Recommending The Mauritanian

I recommend all sorts of things to my Politics students, like documentaries, books, and so on that they (a) might be interested in and (b) will help them with their studies. What teacher doesn't? I see films as part of this package. I was set to watch Unthinkable again https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0...

starring Michael Sheen and Samuel L Jackson, recently when on a well known film streaming service, The Mauritanian popped up - and also as free to view.

The Mauritanian being something I hadn't seen before, and it having had good reviews, I thought I'd give it a go. It is a very personal account (based on a true story) set against the background of the War on Terror, ie the response by the USA (and allies) to the attacks of 9/11. It is similar in theme, therefore, to the likes of the excellent Zero Dark Thirty https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1...

This is what a proper film critic makes of it: https://www.theguardian.com/fi...

The Mauritanian gets 7.4 on a well known movie rating site. I asked my Y12 if anyone had watched it following my recommendation and they gave it a solid 8.5. This kind of fits with my theory that one tends to rate films more highly if the subject material is something you happen to be interested in. I've long thought this since I always rate films about politics, or a legal pursuit of justice, and the like, as a point higher than a certain well known movie rating site.

Trailer should play below...