Ein mutiger Weg

This movie gives a good account of the harrowing experience of Mariane Pearl from the moment her husband Danny went missing until he was beheaded. Angelina Jolie's acting is commendable with a well maintained French accent throughout. Dan Futterman bears a striking resemblance to Daniel Pearl. There's no suspense or major climax/anti-climax as we all know what happened to Daniel Pearl and this movie is based on Mariane's memoirs. Not much insight into the investigations performed by the American Intelligence agencies. Overall, it's good movie to get an insight into the unsuccessful hunt for Daniel Pearl on the streets of Karachi.

Essentially what we have here is a pretty well done, seemingly step by step account of the investigation into the kidnapping of Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Pearl in 2002, which of course ended with his tragic murder. It is not without weaknesses. Primarily, watching close to two hours about an investigation that doesn't seem to be going anywhere and eventually accomplishes nothing gets a bit dry after a while - especially because we know how this is going to end. There comes a point when you just want to fast forward through it to the end. Having said that, the strengths definitely outweigh the weaknesses.

Director Michael Winterbottom does a pretty good job of establishing atmosphere. From the very beginning, the chaotic nature of Karachi sets a foreboding tone to the movie, and, although I sometimes find archival footage in movies to be of little use, in "A Mighty Heart" I thought Winterbottom did a pretty good job of blending the archival stuff (particularly clips of Colin Powell and Pervez Musharaff) into the story. Throughout the movie the viewer wonders how Pearl's murder is going to be portrayed, and, again, kudos to Winterbottom. In fact, and thankfully, the murder isn't portrayed at all. What we see are the reactions of those who see the video for the first time and their reactions to the ghastly scene on the tape is sufficient to establish what happened. There was (to me at least) an interesting scene that lasted only a couple of minutes dealing with a typical "ugly American" female FBI agent, who bursts into the Pearl home, ignores the Pakistani authorities, tries to take charge and orders the room "cleared" because she gets a phone call she wants no one else to hear. She disappears immediately after this scene and was never seen again. I just for some reason found it rather typical of how I would expect U.S. authorities to act in a foreign country, and her portrayal was, of course, balanced by the very sympathetic portrayal of the kindhearted Randall Bennett (Will Randall) - an official from the U.S. Embassy who provides great support to Mariane Pearl.

Angelina Jolie was, I understand, a bit of a controversial choice for the part (largely for ethnic reasons) but she put on an excellent performance as Mariane, hopelessly lost in the situation, pregnant with Daniel's baby and totally dependent on others to try to save her husband. Her reaction to the news of Daniel's death was raw with emotion. Ethnic controversy aside, no one can deny that Jolie was superb in this role. Her performance and Winterbottom's direction make the movie worthwhile. 8/10

Michael Winterbottom brings us the true story of Daniel Pearl (Dan Futterman). It's January 2002, the Wall Street Journal reporter was captured by terrorists when he arranged an interview with a fundamentalist cleric. His wife Mariane (Angelina Jolie) immediately initiates a frantic search.

Two things stand out in this movie. The eerie realism and the scary setting this movie exists in. The Pakistani part of the movie is especially stunning. You can almost feel the energy coming from the streets. The second is Angelina Jolie. She really transform herself, and shows that she is a real actress with skills.

Though based on a horrifying and tragic event, "A Mighty Heart" is a strangely unmoving film. Director Michael Winterbottom throws plenty of details at us about the investigation into the kidnapping of journalist Daniel Pearl by radical Muslims in Pakistan, and the film plays almost like a documentary, even copping the documentary look with lots of hand-held camera shots and jump-cut editing. But the human story gets buried underneath the complex web of details, and despite a solid performance from Angelina Jolie as Pearl's remarkably stoic wife Mariane, I wasn't much moved by the film.

Winterbottom doesn't display a lot of skill at making the details coherent to his audience, and I'm not sure even now who all of the players were or what role they played. He assumes that everyone will already come to the film knowing the story of Daniel and Mariane Pearl, and while I knew the general outline, I wasn't aware of all the specifics, and this film doesn't help. It recreates the feeling of coming into a T.V. series after having missed the opening episode, and trying to digest material without being able to put it into context.

Grade: B

This is an intimate film. Basically a love story set in the political wreckage after the attack on the World Trade Center. As such, we don't get much detail about the different factions in Pakistan or who is "good" or "bad." It's the story of a couple who find themselves being used by terrorists and whether it is mere coincidence because they are Westerners or whether more specific points are being made because Daniel Pearl is Jewish aren't really explored, a wide variety of explanations are offered. Instead, as a backdrop to the suspense and the couple's relationship, we get a visual poem of life in Islamabad and Karachi, which I found beautiful, fascinating and more than just a little frightening. These are not cities for people with claustrophobia.

With the story beginning the day of Daniel Pearl's kidnapping, his character is fleshed out only through flashback or what others say about him, as well as the devotion of all who search to rescue him. I doubt few will go to this film without knowing the outcome. I suppose some fans of Ms. Jolie might attend and find themselves unaware of the events portrayed in the movie. So Winterbottom has his work cut out for him since most in the audience know the conclusion.

As Mariane Pearl, Angelina Jolie gives a remarkable, restrained performance. Her face is a mask and emotion is communicated almost exclusively through her eyes. It's the gift of a remarkable talent for the screen. I don't know how anyone could have been better. Others in the cast, too, are notable: Archie Panjabi holds her own with Jolie whenever they're together on the screen. It's a particularly complicated role since she becomes the target of the Pakistani press as the reason for Pearl's abduction, and her guilt, bafflement and frustration give the film added suspense. And Irfan Khan, the pivotal Pakistani investigator—in a role that could have been clichéd—brings an urgency to his character that earned my sympathy for succeeding in what must have been an impossible task. The film opens with Mariane Pearl describing Karachi as the World's second largest city and her husband was trying to meet with one man…how impossible it must be to find a single person in such a large place. That proves prophetic as Irfan Kahn then has to find Daniel Pearl.

The growing alarm of the first night of Pearl's abduction is particularly well done by both the director and actors.

I'm a little shocked by others' comment here that the Pearl's shouldn't have been "doing what they were doing" or because they put themselves in a dangerous situation we should somehow feel less sympathetic. I'm ashamed that such comments could be made in the face of this tragedy.