Pop Culture Reviews

Taxi to the Dark Side – DVD Review

Distributor: Madman Television Released: 2008 Genre: Documentary Credits: Director: Alex Gibney Writer: Alex Gibney Rating: R16 (Content my disturb)

This DVD was supplied by Madman Entertainment New Zealand for review

Pop Culture Reviews highly recommends this DVD

Prior to watching a movie or DVD, it’s uncommon for me not to have heard or read something about it. But nothing could have prepared me for Taxi to the Dark Side. You hear alot and see alot on TV, the internet and in magazines about the horrors of war and what goes on ‘over there’ – in foreign countries and places many of us can hardly pronounce. But when you see people in familiar uniforms (in this instance, US soldiers) carrying out acts of unspeakable violence against innocent human beings, you really begin to wonder. How much of this really goes on ‘over there’ and how much of it never gets exposed.

This documentary is a step in the right direction. An extremely poignant and brutally honest view of one particular case – that of an Afghan taxi driver named Dilawar who was arrested on suspicion of being a terrorist and sent to prison. He died five days after his arrest as a result of torture and interrogation. This documentary covers the events that led up to that fateful day in Bagram prison and details the far-reaching trail to cover up the murder.

It’s difficult to call this movie ‘good’ because there’s no doubt about it, it will move you, one way or another. An Academy award winning documentary should do that but Taxi to the Dark Side is so much more than just mere facts uncovered. It’s a documentary that really hits home, even though it focuses on a war that many of us know hardly anything about. After seeing this documentary, it’s easy to see why people opt to turn their backs on the horrors that other people are forced to face every day. People like Dilawar and his surviving family.

I would highly recommend this DVD to anyone and everyone with a conscience. Even if it’s only for a day, you’ll go from being someone totally oblivious to the horrors of the ‘war on terror’ to someone who was given a reason to care.

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