The Hamburg Cell (2004)

Best movie of this year hands down!

Awesome Movie

There's no way I can possibly love it entirely but I just think its ridiculously bad, but enjoyable at the same time.

It is encouraging that the film ends so strongly.Otherwise, it wouldn't have been a particularly memorable film

I just taped this off HBO this morning and watched it later on tonight.Reading the TV Guide synopsis it suggested like a previous poster stated that some would find the film objectionable because of how the terrorist were portrayed.No they were not given to us as some evil monsters as most would choose to believe.I'm glad instead we got to see who and what they really were.A group of men who looked upon the decadence and vast moral decline of this modern world as a direct influence of the United States upon other nations.Their Muslim beliefs,as they interpreted it led them to singling out America for the devastating attack Sep 11,2001.Religious beliefs have been taken this far before in the past resulting in unforgivable atrocities done to the innocent.One would just wonder whatever religious belief a person might have,wouldn't a true God fearing heart question even the thought of committing such acts?Looking at their views on the subject and my being a Christian I find it quite absurd that they would imagine any rewards awaiting them in the afterlife.Come on now,upon their death they will be greeted by a number of beautiful virgin women?An intelligent mind would or should ask itself "Is this really how my God works"? They might say well yes we are fighting our enemy and we kill innocent people just like the American soldiers.Soldiers who believe they are fighting a war condoned by God too.They feel their acts are honorable just as our boys feel their military duty is honorable.Well this is what this film shows us.I think is is necessary for us to see their real mental frame of mind.I know they and others following those beliefs are truly mislead.Many thanks to HBO and contributors across the Atlantic for this interesting look at the factual story that led to the Sep 11 disaster.

I saw this movie back in Dubai last year during its premiere in the Dubai International Film Festival.The thing I liked most about this movie was the fact that it wasn't biased towards a certain point of view, and even though I believe that you can't have complete objectivity in anything, I think this movie did a superb job in trying to portray the entire process of how those students became suicide bombers, which is something I'm sure people wonder about nowadays, especially in the west. At the same time, it also shows the intelligence mishaps that were played out by the US government before 9/11.What I found amusing was that the entire Arab audience that watched the movie was angry and started singing their song..."it shows all Arabs as terrorists...etc" whereas half of the other audience (non-Arabs) didn't feel it was like that at all, and naturally the entire audience ignored the actors and the producers during the Q and A session and started arguing amongst each other. Which basically shows how controversial this movie is and why it hasn't really been released yet. A shame really. I think the American audience (and the rest of the world) could use a little more light on the incident.In conclusion, I hope it can be released soon so I can own it on DVD asap. It's definitely worth watching again and again.

I just saw this movie on cable TV here in Australia and really liked it. It actually gave me goose bumps as it was really eerie. The actors were wonderful and the writing is exemplary as it really gave the story a human face without sympathizing with the act of terrorism. It showed how strange it is in this day and age that grown men can be so brainwashed into thinking that once they commit such a terrible act against humanity that they are going up into Paradise where Virgins are waiting for them. Nowhere in the Koran or the Modern Muslim world would this be accepted. THese terrorists had minds of their own and in no way would be supported by a rational Muslim society. I thought to myself while watching this movie, the Holy Prophet Mohammed would have been disgusted with this act if he were watching from above. The Prophet Mohammed was such a humanitarian that he would not have supported this kind of terrorism in any way.I hope this movie has shown people the effect of brainwashing and what it can lead to - Just like the David Koresh's of the world or the other Cult leader who had his whole cult commit mass suicide - Brainwashing is the worst thing that can happen to someone. So please let these kinds of movies or acts be a lesson to us all and not let ourselves get caught up in such IGNORANT beliefs and doctrines as to lose our humanity. Peace be upon everyone in the whole world! Now is the time we all need each other - No matter what religion we are!TAKE CARE EVERYONE!

There is no doubt about it, this is a controversial movie, and it took me a while to see it. Missing it at the Edinburgh Film Festival really got to me but I managed to see it just recently.I understand that it doesn't yet have a US\Canada release and although there have been talks, nothing has yet been signed up, and no wonder. The subject matter is focused on one of the hijackers of the September 11th Twin Towers attack. Yes. Very controversial and highly emotionally charged topic.The first thing I'd say about the movie is it is portrayed as an unbiased movie, however that isn't quite true but it's clear to see why. The movie solely rests with the hijackers and the lead up to those terrible events of September the 11th but doesn't concentrate on the events of that day, there are a few shots that remind you of the actual attack, but detail isn't entered into and I think that actually is a good thing.There's a lot of strong feeling about that day, and very rightly so, but in a movie which tries to take no sides, concentrating on the events would clearly fill any sane person with great sadness and a strong anger against the hijackers and the groups to which they belong.Okay, so let's put that part to the side and try and concentrate on the movie itself. Antonio Bird has carried through Ronan Bennett's story very well, documenting the process of the main character, Ziad Jarrah played by Karim Salah, transforming from a Western Muslim living the life of a typical student, to a Muslim extremist.Salah portrays the role excellently, carrying with total believability, the slow change. He starts as a typical student, interested in his own life and ignoring his initial upbringings looking at love and life as a Doctor. Slowly, he is indoctored into a group of Muslims, rediscovering his religion, and from there an extremist pulls him across to their cause and the change in the character is small but obvious. He becomes strong, self assured, and angry.This carries on for much of the movie, but when the realisations of what is happening and what he is committing to become more apparent, his love for his wife and their Western life come into contention.From the outset this movie shocks, and it does very well in showing what was behind one of the hijackers. What isn't so good is it doesn't quite hit the mark on this very change. I could see what changed him, and I could understand the peer and religious pressure around him (this is very eloquently shown in the movie) but you still find yourself asking why? A vital few steps are missing, and this may purely be down to the lack of historical information, or the complexity of the subject.Although an even more difficult subject, I felt the religious and Jihad side could be tackled more, but that might have made the film more inaccessible to the mainstream Western audience.In the end, the movie condemns what these people did with an extremely loud voice, but not from the extreme Western view that can often be heard today, but from the characters words and actions throughout their brief history. Indeed some of the victim support groups from that day have applauded the release of a film to understand the fundamentalist mindset.This movie is well worth watching, believe me when I say it isn't all from the side of the hijackers, and it does not attempt in the slightest to justify events, it is an attempt at understanding.