Opens in Korea. Unknown
Plot. The film is based on Mariane Pearl’s account of the terrifying and unforgettable story of her husband, Wall Street Journal reporter Danny Pearl’s life and death.
To be honest I did not want to see this film. I have seen the actual video of Mr. Pearl being decapitated. I WILL NOT POST ANY LINK TO THAT HORRID VIDEO. Also, when Fox News was banned from the premier, it sent the wrong signals. After watching it, I came to the conclusion that we have 2 very different films in this one and because of that we are left with one huge mess.
For the part of the film that I liked, the Pakistani Police. The job that they did in finding the people who killed Mr. Pearl was a great step by step way how this crime was committed. Now if you are highly upset about police officers doing what needed to be done, then you might just want to skip this film all together. Irfan Khan does a great job as the Pakistani police Captain who is determined to find Mr. pearl alive.
Now here is where I find myself agreeing with Asra Q. Nomani.
(She was a friend and colleague of Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Pearl, who was staying with her in Karachi with his wife Mariane Pearl when he was abducted and later murdered by Islamic militants in January 2002. She is shown in the film by standing by Mrs. Pearl and awaiting the news of his fate)
Nomani argued “…that Danny himself had been cut from his own story.” Washington Post. A Mighty Shame
Thats where the film totally lost me, instead of focusing in on Daniel we are shown Mariane story and I kept asking myself why? Her story hurt the film and took away from the real focus of finding Mr. Pearl.
They do not show the video of his killing, they do show that they found the video and they do show the reaction to the video. I thought that was done with good taste. The film is dedicated to their son Adam.
Overall, the film is a mess and is not worth the 100 minutes time that it will take to watch it.
Grade D+
How I saw it. Cam Cop
Opening Weekend in USA $3,948,863 1,355 Theaters June 22-24th 2007
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Sounds unfortunate! I’m a huge Angelina Jolie fan and I’ll probably see it anyway, even if it’s just a distraction while on the stationary bike this summer!
I want to see it too. I like her too, but I think the story, from what I saw in some interviews, is supposed to be more about the wife’s story. Yes, it is her story because of what happened to her husband, but I don’t think the point was to develop Danny’s character, but rather his wife’s. It IS based on HER memiors, not his.