The Guard

Moving and emotionally charged performances by both Stewart and Moaadi from beginning to end. I was completely surprised by the subject matter of Gitmo, expecting a political message as the underlying theme, but it turned out to be a study of humanity and relationships within extreme circumstances. Impressive directorial debut of Sattler.

Stewart plays guard Amy Cole, a young marine from a small town who joined the military to escape her life. The movie centers around the conflict of her growing relationship with a prisoner, Moaadi, who has been in Gitmo for eight years. Both actors do justice to the storyline and these complex characters without building caricatures of military and extremist personalities. I'm not one for heavy military story lines, but I was pleasantly surprised by this film's twist to the Gitmo plot with a narrow lens on the people, not the politics. It's not all heavy subject matter....Moaadi adds some appreciated humor. Bottom line: worth my time.

A Worth watching experience, after a long time came across a genuine movie describing how life is there in world's most hatted prison, the movie explains how abnormal life becomes and also uncovers the panic situation when you live in a prison where rules are set by other's as clearly and effectively said by Peyman Moadi "It is there life not our's, You want us to follow your rules".

There is no violence in the movie yet it explains a lot about the life in prison and how disturbing it is, and I believe this is the beauty of this movie...well done to Producer and Directors.

Note: I do not support Al-Qaeda, ISIS or any other such organization but I am aware of the fact that there are many people out there who are imprisoned for life, yet they are innocent and world's so called peace loving countries are not willing to free them in fact have ambitions to pile up more and more such cases. Dr. Afia Siddique is one of such example.

With all the detractors of Kristen Stewart re: the Twilight saga, it's fair to say that they can now eat her shorts. Camp X ray highlights the fact that sometimes, people are wrongfully imprisoned or detained, that what may be deemed as a threat to national security by the policy makers and the flow on effect of orders in that respect, can possibly be askew.

Connecting with another person on any level, in any scenario, as a result of any reason or no reason at all, is what life is about. Although this film is the work of multiple talented entertainment artists, and the story, they're interpretation of what life may be like at Guantanamo Bay for it's detainees, there's a powerful message, a range of kindness and emotion, uplifting and educating to the end.

Kristen Stewart, simply amazing...

The directorial debut of Peter Sattler is infused with a strong moral ambiguity that will make you question your own beliefs. Anchored by two magnificent performances by Kristen Stewart and Peyman Moaadi, "Camp X-Ray" is a flawed yet very affecting portrait of a relationship that develops in the most unlikeliest of places.

"Camp X-Ray" tells the story of a soldier named by Amy Cole, who is assigned to watch detainees at Guantanamo Bay. Her whole outlook on the military and life are changed when she befriends one of the detainees named Ali Amir.

From an honest filmmaking standpoint, writer/director Sattler hits many of his cinematic cues that you'd expect in a movie like this. It's full of emotion, tension, and moral questions that keep you thinking. However, the questions and emotional high-points are few and far between. At times, the film can feel awfully bloated, with fluff, and seemingly unimportant subplots that do nothing for the overall theme. There was a unique opportunity to explore queries regarding war, prison, and other things regarding politics that can be very frustrating when watching, especially since it has 117 minute run time. With all that said, when Sattler does it right, he nails it. I would be remiss if I didn't say, I'm not looking forward to see what he has up his sleeve next.

The cinematic world tends to forget that Kristen Stewart showed such immense promise pre-"Twilight" days. A complete standout in Sean Penn's "Into the Wild" in 2007, for which she was nominated alongside the cast at the Screen Actors Guild Awards. Even in between the vampire franchise, she subtly delivered in "Adventureland," "The Runaways," and "On the Road." Stewart revives her glory days as Private Amy Cole, and makes us believe in a brighter future for the tween icon. Sattler knows her limitations, strengths, and puts them both to stunning use. Emotionally charged, Stewart may have delivered her finest performance yet, even one of the best by an actress this year.

As Asghar Farhadi enthusiasts will remember the talented Peyman Moaadi from the Oscar-winning "A Separation," the rest of the world that hasn't had the pleasure yet will start becoming well acquainted. Moaadi ignites a fire throughout the film, balancing his inquisitive and charismatic demeanor against a deep-rooted anger that will explode at any moment. I implore all writer and directors to utilize him over the next few years/decades.

Overall, "Camp X-Ray" has many things to offer an audience member. Some of which will make you curious, some of which that will undoubtedly disappoint you. Consequently, the film will get a dialogue going between those who have seen the film. I'm excited to see how Sattler's experience will be interpreted by the viewing public. At bare minimum, you can relish in the bravura turns of Kristen Stewart and Peyman Moaadi, two actors that are well worth the watch.

Greetings from Lithuania.

"Camp X-Ray" (2014) is nothing very superb or original, but it's a nice drama. Set in kinda unique place, it lets the very simple story of a friendship. Story about friendship would be simple, except that it occurs between two people from different universes, but at the end they get attached by a simple humanity. This a well acted, directed and written drama, which won't going to win any Oscars, but it will do just fine for one evening.

Overall, "Camp X-Ray" is nicely done drama, set in a unique location and features old as the movies itself plot about friendship between two different people, who wins each others respect and friendship due to common acts on decency.