The Oath
A poignant examination of America’s war on terror, The Oath offers a quietly disturbing look inside al-Qaida through the eyes of two brothers-in-law. Abu Jandal, a former bodyguard to Osama bin Laden who named names in the wake of the 9/11 attacks, currently works as a taxicab driver in Yemen, while Salim Hamdan, a former driver for bin Laden whom Jandal recruited, was held at Guantanamo Bay for years. Filmed in Yemen, The Oath follows Jandal as he poses his son on a blanket beside grenades and an AK-47, and talks with earnest men about bin Laden. Meanwhile, excerpts from letters written by Hamdan illuminate his cruel fate. The second documentary in a trilogy about post-9/11 America (the first film, My Country, My Country, earned both an Oscar nomination and a Peabody Award), The Oath deftly explores the twin tragedies of terrorism and America’s response to it.
Subjects :
Media Coverage
Macleans (Capsule Review), NOW Magazine (4-star Review), Eye Weekly (5-star Review), About.com (Capsule Review)
Director(s)
Laura Poitras
Producer(s)
Laura Poitras
Co-Producers: Nasser Arrabyee
Aliza Kaplan
Jonathan Oppenheim
Executive Producer(s)
David Menschel
Sally Jo Fifer
Cinematographer(s)
Kirsten Johnson
Laura Poitras
Editor(s)
Jonathan Oppenheim
Composers(s)
Osvaldo Golijov
