A Mighty Heart (2007)

Usually, when a film stars Angelina Jolie, all I can think of is Tomb Raider. Fortunately, I was able to stuff that thought down as I watched A Mighty Heart. This is a superb film about a true event. No one in the film is glorified, except perhaps Jolie's character who is strong even in the face of incredible adversity and every participating party is shown to be honest, but at the same time somewhat inept.

An American reporter is kidnapped in Pakistan and his wife (Jolie) leads the charge for the captors. Pakistani police forces join with the CIA, FBI, newspaper reporters, and family in an emotionally and politically charged hunt. Because the event is so convoluted with multi-faceted issues, the wife's pain and the fact that the kidnappee could be killed are sometimes forgotten. The strength of the picture isn't so much how the wife copes, but rather the human interactions and the frustration that is bred.

The camera work and writing are particularly compelling. Subtitles abound as Urdu and French naturally pepper the primarily English dialogue. We are placed in a less than savory position of finding a needle in a haystack - which speaks a different language and is less than sympathetic to American interference.

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