One Best
Defense reader suggested several Indian films might be part of my
terrorism film festival. So we recently tried Black Friday, which is a
docudrama about the March 12, 1993, bombings of Bombay that inflicted about
1,000 casualties in one day. My wife the saint walked out about 90 minutes into
it, but I stuck with it and enjoyed it. It reminded me of Flight 93 -- a tight focus, no
narration, no explanation, and a basic assumption that the viewers knows the
context in which the film is occurring.
One
caveat: I disliked how the film excused
the quick use of torture by the Indian police. I especially cringed at the
police officer's trite rebuttal: "Where are the human rights of the victims?"
As my friend Stu Herrington might say, not only is police torture wrong, it
also is counterproductive.
So, I'd recommend this film to anyone
thinking about India, but concede that it probably is too difficult to follow
for anyone who hasn't been there or who isn't studying the country. Bonus
reason: If you are a huge
fan of Slumdog Millionaire, you'll want to watch this, because Slumdog
clearly was influenced by this film.
Is
it a Top 10 Terrorism Film of All Time? Probably not. But definitely worth
taking a look. And thanks to the thoughtful reader who suggested it. And more
thanks to him, we have more Indian terrorism films in the queue.
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