Release Year: 2010

Runtime: 130

Language: Arabic

Director: Laura Poitras

Plot: Abu Jandal is a taxi driver in Sana’a, Yemen; his brother-in-law Salim Hamdan is a Guantanamo prisoner and the first man to face the controversial military tribunals. Jandal and Hamdan’s intertwined personal trajectories, how they became bin Laden’s bodyguard and driver respectively, act as prisms that serve to explore and contextualize a world which has confounded Western media. As Hamdan’s trial progresses, his military lawyers challenge fundamental flaws in the court system. The charismatic Jandal dialogues with his young son,
Muslim students and journalists, and chillingly unveils the complex evolution of
his belief system post-9/11. Winner of Best Documentary Cinematography at
the 2010 Sundance Film Festival, The Oath offers a rare window into a hidden
realm—and the international impact of the U.S. War on Terror.

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