The War Within
The War Within ★★ 2005 (R)
Pakistani student Hassan (Akhtar) is kidnapped from his Paris home and tortured for three years in a detention center during which time he becomes a radicalized Jihadist. After being released he is smuggled into New York where he is to play a key role in a plot to bomb targets in the city. Hassan's friend Sayeed (Bamji) allows him to stay in his home in New Jersey while Hassan is working within a sleeper cell. This sets up a sharp contrast between the western lifestyle of Sayeed's family and the extremist activities of Hassan and his cell. The chilling plausibility of the storyline makes up for any weakness in execution. 90m/C DVD . US Ayad Akhtar, Nandana Sen, Firdous Bamji, Sarita Choudhury, John Ventimiglia, Mike McGlone, Firdous Bamji, Charles Daniel Sandoval, Varun Sriram, Anjeli Chapman, Ajay Naidu, Aasif Mandvi; D: Joseph Castelo; W: Joseph Castelo, Ayad Akhtar, Tom Glynn; C: Lisa Rinzler; M: David Holmes.