The War Within Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		4.5
Video		4.5
Audio		4.5
Extras		2.5
Overall		4.5

The War Within Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov August 6, 2008

Disturbing, stripped of political correctness, and hitting hard where it hurts the most, Joseph Castelo's The War Within (2005) is a film impossible to like. It is cold and so difficult to endure that it practically transforms one’s viewing experience into a nightmare which is best to forget as soon as possible. This is terrifying cinema at its best.

Somewhere on the outskirts of the Latin district in Paris Hassan (Akhtar), a Pakistani student, is kidnapped and transported back to Karachi. There, in a darkly-lit cell, he is interrogated by Western intelligence forces seeking the missing link in a multinational terrorist organization.

Three years later…Hassan has been smuggled into the United States through a shipping yard located between New Jersey and New York. He is on his way to a family relative residing in an area of New Jersey known for its large Muslim community. Announcing that he has been invited for a job interview with a prestigious engineering company Hassan will get in touch with a radical underground organization operating out of New York City. Then, in less than a week, Hassan will blow himself up in the middle of Grand Central Station.

The Red, White, and Blue

A film of vile realism and plenty of controversial messages The War Within follows up the enormous success of two equally disturbing pictures, Hany Abu-Assad's award-winning Paradise Now (2005) and Saverio Costanzo's Private (2004). It tells the story of a man who has lost hope in humanity and committed his soul to the devil.

Inspired by the tragic events we all witnessed on September 11, 2001 The War Within offers two different point of views addressing what most every sane person would condemn as terrorism. The first one attempts to explain the motivation behind an act of lunacy where religion is suspiciously thrown in to justify, or exonerate if you will, madness. The second offers only a passive look at an enormous tragedy. Plain and simple. Therefore, I find it incredibly difficult to write about The War Within as I find it almost impossible to announce that I "liked what I saw". Yet, I was glued to the screen observing the actions of the main protagonist with a wrenching feeling in my stomach. The precision with which preparation was carried, the empty eyes of a man convinced in his holly mission, and the inability of those around him to recognize madness certainly made this film an essential viewing.

Tagged "one of the most anti-American films" to be made in recent years The War Within is undoubtedly as disturbing of a film as I have seen in a long, very long time. Contrary to the flashy absurdness Hollywood typically resorts to whenever crime is addressed The War Within attacks America's fears in a manner so honest it is impossible not to be terrified. Not surprisingly its creator, Joseph Castelo, has opted for a fitting documentary look that further enhances the film’s gritty aura.

The cinematography is beautiful but simple. There aren’t any flashy cuts or zooms here either. The camera often remains static as if not to disturb the methodical actions of the main protagonist. During selected scenes it feels as if one is viewing a documentary where a technician forgot to add the revealing commentary. Not that The War Within actually needs one – the moment Hassan arrives in New Jersey is the moment when Joseph Castelo unleashes madness – it is just a very awkward feeling knowing what is about to happen and not being able to react to it. Even if it is only on film!

I viewed The War Within immediately after it was released by Magnolia Pictures. It made an enormous impression on me and for the first time in my life I felt helpless in my attempts to apply any sort of logic to what I had just seen. I don’t know whether it had to do with the fact that the events from September 11 were still fresh in my mind but the visceral precision of Hassan’s deeds simply proved to be too much for me to handle. Now here we are again, I have the BD of The War Within in my hands and just by looking at its cover I get a strange feeling in my stomach. You think I am exaggerating? See this film, and feel free to let me know how it resonated with you!

The War Within Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in its original aspect ratio of 1.78:1 and encoded with MPEG-2 The War Within boasts a solid 1080p transfer. Shot with a Sony HDW-F900 camera as noted in the synopsis above the film has a very distinctive documentary look where daylight and nighttime scenes reveal different degrees of softness as well as image definition. The daylight scenes are typically bright and lush with colors being notably vivid, though not popping out. The overall look is crisp and clean lacking heavy grain (byproduct of the intended video composition). The nighttime scenes are slightly more delicate – colors here are a tad muted, definition not as strong, and the video/documentary effect less noticeable. This being said the actual print is in top-notch condition. It is clean and healthy and I did not detect any sourcing issues to report. Overall, this is an excellent transfer by Magnolia Pictures replicating the director's vision flawlessly.

The War Within Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The two tracks you will find on this BD are English DTS-HD 5.1 and English Dolby Digital 5.1. Given the mostly dialog driven structure of The War Within, however, you will be hard-pressed to test the strength of your set-ups. The majority of the storyline is comprised of large blocks of silence where the camera is focused on Hassan's methodical preparations. The dialog, however, is crystal clear and very easy to follow. I did not detect any imperfections with the either of the two. The distinctively ambient soundtrack comes off the speakers in a flawless fashion but as I noted earlier do not expect much movement outside of your main two channels. Optional Spanish and English: SDH subtitles are provided.

The War Within Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Aside from a gallery of trailers for other films channeled under Magnolia Film's logo the only other supplemental bit you will find on this disc is an audio commentary by writer-director Joseph Castelo and writer-actor Ayad Akhtar. The bulk of the discussion here revolves around the technical difficulties the production team faced. However the duo also delivers a sizable amount of comments pertaining to the socio-political climate in the United States after the September 11 tragedy and how we are all, more or less, victims of its aftermath. This is certainly an eye-opening commentary which I strongly suggest you listen to as it perfectly sums up a lot of the hypocrisy that has been unleashed by those who have a vested interest in keeping us in a perpetual state of free falling.

The War Within Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

A film of enormous power The War Within is not for the meek. It is honest, to the point, and incredibly well acted. I doubt it one could extract any type of enjoyment by seeing it but no one said that great cinema was meant only to entertain. The BD produced by Magnolia Pictures is of high quality and if you are willing to challenge yourself with a film in harsh discord with the mish-mash Hollywood is keen on mass-producing I cannot think of a better ticket.