FLJS Films: The Oath

The Oath tells the fateful story of two men, whose loyalty to an ideal in a world of disintegrating legal, moral, and constitutional norms tests their beliefs and threatens their liberty. Acclaimed director Laura Poitras has created a riveting documentary about Salim Hamdan, Osama bin Laden's driver and the first man to face the controversial US military commissions that were established in response to his earlier exoneration by the Supreme Court. At the heart of the film is Hamdan’s charismatic brother-in-law, whose struggles with his conscience for having introduced him to bin Laden provide a gripping psychological portrait of guilt and the redemptive role of society. A decade since its release, and with fault lines reopening between the Muslim world and the West, the film leads the viewer on a jihadist's journey through Saudi Arabia, Yemen, Bosnia, Afghanistan, Iraq, Guantanamo Bay, all the way to the US Supreme Court. Here, the complexities and contradictions of the war on terror are laid bare, epitomized in the devastating revelation behind the double meaning of the film’s title. Praise for The Oath: "The most essential and revelatory documentary of the year" New York Magazine "Compelling, emotionally and intellectually complex, The Oath is an important film that raises questions we must all ask" Film Comment