Strip Search (2004)

Overrated

Fantastic!

what a terribly boring film. I'm sorry but this is absolutely not deserving of best picture and will be forgotten quickly. Entertaining and engaging cinema? No. Nothing performances with flat faces and mistaking silence for subtlety.

A clunky actioner with a handful of cool moments.

The movie is really a very very well made one with the parallels between two plots. It brings out the question-"is subjecting a foreigner to inhuman torture and trauma and humiliation right in one country and wrong in another country?" For protecting one's country and people against terrorism, if the police can do anything to the foriegners, then any other country has the same rights.I saw the movie on HBO and it was quite an eye opener on what can happen to a foriegner in some other country. The movie might have been an exaggeration, but then similar things have been reported in past.The best parts of the movie were the 3-4 clips in between of various us presidents talking about freedom and democracy provided by their nation to their own citizens and also to the world.

This film begins in a classroom with a professor asking his students if it was acceptable to give up your rights for 1 day if the government could guarantee that it could get rid of terrorism. He then proceeds to ask the same question, but extending the time period from 1 day to 10 years.The director then examines two identical situations differing only in their location. The first scenario is of an American woman being hooded, and then abducted by Chinese security forces and then taken to an unknown location where she is asked some uncomfortable questions. The second scenario is of the same thing happening to an Arab man (they never really say which country he's from) being hooded and abducted and taken to an FBI building where he's questioned.This film is effective in asking the viewer whether the US wishes to fight any war in a manner similar to how Communist China (with no supposed civil freedoms) fights a War on Terror. Additionally, the viewer is asked whether civil liberties which have taken many decades of struggle to obtain and keep are so worthless that they can be discarded for any period of time. One of the most ironic parts of the movie is that the quote by Thomash Jefferson "The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants." is used by the Arab suspect in his political science thesis and then the FBI agent questioning him asks whether the use of this statement is a call to violent dissent.The problem with this film is that both scenarios use precisely the same dialog and this while initially effective gets pretty boring at the end. Also in pre-Abu Ghraib world people could be happy at the realism of the level of abuse that both parties experience, but we now know that a lot worse can and does happen.I can understand why this film isn't shown more in the US, no-one wants our country compared to Communist China, and certainly not at this time. Whether this is a valid point for not showing the film is debatable.

And since when does a movie have to be factual, realistic or based on truth to be noteworthy? I don't care about the implications of this movie so much as the intriguingness of the way in which it is presented to the viewer. It in some way says "we all fear for our own security/safety". Maybe its a little over the top, blunt and not politically correct, but movies are meant to provoke us, to entertain us.. not to feed us facts - unless of course, we are watching a documentary :) The first thing I thought after seeing this movie was "wow, that would make an awesome screen play for theater". I wasn't really committed to or concerned with factual events, presentation of ideas (political, social or otherwise), or what I would take away from it. I did, however enjoy the intent of the director to provoke the viewer to think for themselves a little. There was not enough information presented to draw factual conclusions regarding the character of either "victim". In fact, I am not certain the word victim is appropriate. Were they? Or are we? I liked that it left me with that thought. I think everyone has an opinion regarding the events of 9/11 and I think this movie draws those opinions out in the viewer and re-validates them a bit. Good or bad. Very original presentation of a not so original plot.

This piece of garbage is terrible, I mean horrible. This is one of the worst pieces of trash ever. I cant believe such good actors felt they needed to be in this, the paycheck couldnt be worth it, its a made for tv movie for gods sake.Its about some interrogations of 2 students. The writing here is painfull to listen to. There is no reason for this to exist. It tries to make a point and fails misserably. It crashes and burns like only so few can. I just finished watching it and frankly I'm kinda ticked off at the hour of my life I lost.If Strip Search happens to be on when your flipping the channels. Search for something better.