The Body of Lies - Essay Example

?The Body of Lies The Body of Lies is a film about the CIA tracking a terrorist known as Al-Saleem. A paramilitary operation officer d Roger Ferris played by Leonardo De Caprio was the main lead. He was in Iraq with his asset and soon became good friend tracking a lead when they got into a car chase. His asset died while he suffered injuries from rock-propelled grenades and two missiles. After which, Ferris was sent to Jordan to run some human intelligence while more bombings were made in Sheffield and Manchester. Ed Hoffman played by Russell Crowe is Ferris’ handler who watched his every move via Unmanned Aerial Vehicle or UAV. During the start of the movie, Hoffman explained to CIA superiors what they discovered in Iraq. According to Hoffman, terrorists are now going back to traditional if not Stone Age technique of communication. Because of this fact, Hoffman has to rely more on Ferris’ operation and human intelligence. Roger Ferris met the head of the Jordanian GID named Hani Salaam and they had an agreement to help each other in finding Al-Saleem. But whatever agreement they have to each other, they are still bound to their responsibilities to their own countries. Hoffman was able to discover an Al-Saleem safe house and immediately contacted Ferris to check and watch the place closely. However, without Ferris’ permission, Hoffman conducted another operation which blew the whole safe house operation and ended up with Ferris bitten by dogs. It was this time when he met Aisha whom he eventually developed romantic interest. Another bombing was reported in Amsterdam which killed 75 people at the least. One of the men in the Al-Saleem safe house was recognized by Hani as Karami and compelled him to become their asset in the Al Qaeda terrorist using his mother as Hani’s assurance for his cooperation. Hoffman wanted Karami to be interrogated by the CIA but Hani refuses to hand him over. Without the consent of both Hani and Ferris, Hoffman contacted Ferris’ new subordinate and instructed him to bring him Karami. Because of this, the safe house was blown and Ferris was blamed by Hani and instructed to leave Jordan. Hoffman and Ferris eventually thought that the only way to track Al-Saleem is to create another terrorist group that will threaten Al-Saleem’s ego and power. They planned and staged an attack and used a Jordanian architect named Omar Sadiki as the terrorist cell leader. But Ferris’ plan was made known to Al-Saleem when Sadiki was caught by his man and tortured. After which, Aisha was then kidnapped and while Ferris tried to recover her, he fell into the hands of Al-Saleem just across the border in Syria. He was interrogated and when he was about to be killed, Hani came to a rescue and Al-Saleem was arrested by the group. Hani admitted to Ferris that it was them who kidnapped Aisha to have a deal with Al-Saleem in exchange of Ferris. The movie ended with Ferris quitting the CIA and chose to stay in Jordan while leaving the audience the thought if he was going to reconcile with Aisha. The movie was not really about the politics or war but instead, the Body of Lies involved double-crosses and did not really have anything to say about the War on Terror. But this movie about Iraq war is something that offers good thriller standards. The movie offered moments of suspense but it offers more on how Ferris communicated with people and tries to gain information on the sought after terrorist Al-Saleem. In Markert’s (2011) book, the film Body of Lies belongs to the fictional features belatedly appear. According to Markert (2011), the films from 2001 to 2010 were mostly documentaries and films depicting villains such as Osama Bin Laden and revolving on the World Trade Center bombing. Several fictional films involving wars on Iraq and Afghanistan were made such as this film. However, this film did not involve Bin Laden or Hussein who were the favourite villains in the post-9/11 films. They were the known terrorist leaders that were the subject of US intelligent forces in movies. Mostly, the films about Bin Laden and Hussein depicted how the two leaders were inhumane and the worst human being ever lived. Ruthless, soulless as others may say, but this film did not focus on any of the two. This film was made in 2008, the mood is now different than those films made earlier or right after the attack. The mood when the movie was made was more subtle than those movies made in 2001-2002 or just after the 9/11 attack was made. It can be said that the movie did not really portray the hunger of the Americans to take justice from the terrorists who bombed the WTC. The film does not also convince or take the audience’s sympathy to the Americans. The Body of Lies did not focus on the war in Iraq but it depicted the ways on how Ferris tried to get and track Al-Saleem. The plot of the film focused on the personalities in CIA such as Ferris and Hoffman (Markert 2011). According to Markert (2011), it also portrayed the clashing of the qualities of the bureaucrats and the field agents which can be said to be present in any agencies. Because of this, there is a question whether which of the two are better representative of the country (Markert 2011). The film did not really portray how the American disgusted the people in the Middle East. The film showed cultural sensitivity as mentioned by Markert in his book. Hoffman portrayed the one with arrogance while Ferris being able to stay in the country for a longer time, was able to treat the people there with respect. Unlike other films on War on Terror, the Body of Lies portrayed the Arabic culture differently. Ferris even had a romantic relationship with one of the refugee nurses. In this film, the culture, beliefs and manners or conduct of those who are not involved in the terrorists attacks or those ordinary citizens in the country were not discriminated. The film did not portray that all Arabs are bad or ruthless like the terrorists who attacked the United States. In the end, both Hoffman and Ferris were able to achieve their objective to arrest Al-Saleem but they have different ways in attaining this goal. The audience is left to judge which of the two have better ways in fighting terrorism. Reference: Markert, John. Post 9-11 Cinema Through A Lens Darkly. United Kingdom: Scarecrow Press, 2011. Read More