Beneath the Blindfold

Filmmakers Kathy Berger and Ines Sommer present a disturbing look at the diverse approaches to torturing prisoners around the world in Beneath the Blindfold, which features input from four radically different individuals whose bodies and emotions were ravaged during extreme imprisonment. Blama Massaquoi was kidnapped as a youth in Liberia to join the government's army during the nation's civil war—captured by rebels who forced him to drink a chemical substance that destroyed his esophagus. Physician Matilde de la Sierra worked with Guatemala's Mayan population, which was viewed as a subversive act by the military, while Colombia theater actor Hector Aristizabal was tortured in the 1980s by his country's military for his political activities. The most striking story here belongs to Donald Vance, a U.S. Navy veteran working as a civilian military contractor in Iraq, who blew the whistle on suspicious money and weapons transactions and found himself incarcerated at the American military's Camp Cropper for three months. The film follows the four principals' struggle to recover from the trauma of their tortures, as they draw on a network of emotional, artistic, and legal support to help achieve some degree of healing. A compelling documentary reminding us that the issue of human rights sadly remains highly relevant in today's world, this is recommended. Aud: C, P. (P. Hall)