The Confession: Living the War on Terror – Film Review by Lisa Jewell

Director: Ashish Ghadiali

Exclusively in the IFI from 12 August

It’s a daring move to base a documentary largely around an extended interview and it’s one that pays off in The Confession. The film’s subject, Moazzam Begg, is a former detainee at Guantanamo Bay and Bagram prison, but was never convicted of a crime. Growing up in Birmingham, Begg describes struggling with his identity, being beaten up by skinheads and told to go home but his home was Birmingham. The documentary clearly brings out this point several times – particularly when Begg says he is critical of the West but aware that it’s where he lives and where he grew up.

In the 1990s, he became a Muslim and started an Islamic bookshop – the moment when he feels he came under the radar of security services. Being questioned about his political views at the airport before he boarded a flight to Turkey seems to be an unwarranted move. Begg certainly thinks so – pointing out this was all pre 9/11 and the Terrorism Act. But that’s when the documentary moves into interesting territory – as the filmmaker delves deeper by asking Begg questions and clarifying that he was flying to Turkey in order to cross into Chechnya to observe its rebel forces.

At times, Begg’s travel choices are questionable – why does he go to these places, what are his motives? You can’t help but wonder if we’re looking at these choices unfairly, with hindsight, through the prism of a world changed completely by terrorism. Or if there is more to this story than he is leading us to believe?

As much as the documentary chronicles the past 25 years in Begg’s life, it also serves as a timeline in global conflicts, particularly acts of terrorism and governmental reactions to them. The film blends archive footage of these events with the extended interview with Begg. The interview is shot with interesting camera angles, one of which is very reminiscent of portraiture, and skilfully blends in sound effects that give memories a feeling of place and emotion. I was expecting the film to focus solely on Begg’s experience and while the story of what happened to him is captivating and shocking, the documentary reaches another level when it gets Begg to answer some of the harder questions around identity, war and terrorism and, in turn, makes the audience think about them too.