Strip Search(film)
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Strip Search Written by Tom Fontana Directed by Sidney Lumet Starring Glenn Close
Maggie Gyllenhaal
Ken Leung
Bruno Lastra
Dean Winters
Austin PendletonTheme music composer Paul Chihara Country of origin United States Original language English Production Producers Mark A. Baker
Irene BurnsCinematography Ron Fortunato Editor Tom Swartwout Running time 86 minutes (Germany)
56 minutes (U.S.)[1]Production company HBO Films Release Original network HBO Original release
- April 27, 2004
Strip Searchis a drama film made for theHBOnetwork, first aired on April 27, 2004.[2][3]The film explores the status ofindividual libertiesin the aftermath of theSeptember 11, 2001 attacksand the approval of theUSA PATRIOT Act. The film was directed bySidney Lumetand written byOzcreatorTom Fontana. It starsGlenn Close,Maggie Gyllenhaal,Ken Leung, Bruno Lastra andDean Winters. The film initially was screened at theMonaco Film Premierewith Lumet presenting it in the presence of Fontana.
Different cuts of the film exist. There is supposedly a two-hour version. German TV showed an 86-minute version. The version released on DVD in the U.S. is 56 minutes.[4]
Plot[edit]
The film is built around two main parallel stories, each containing almost identical dialogues. One story line involves Linda Sykes (Gyllenhaal), an American woman detained in thePeople's Republic of China, being interrogated by a military officer (Leung). In the other storyline, Sharif Bin Said (Lastra), an Arab man detained in New York City, is interrogated by twoFBIagents (Winters and Close). Both characters are graduate students detained with no hard evidence and interrogated about unspecified activities which may or may not be related toterroristplots.
In the course of the increasingly brutal interrogations, both Sykes and Bin Said arestrip searchedagainst their will by their interrogators and are subjected to acavity search. In both cases the protagonists appear to have only tenuous connections with the suspected terrorist plots.
The film ends with the question: "Must security and safety come at the price of freedom?"
I see some parallels our safety , we sacrifice freedom... Thius film was one of the most intriguing films I have ever watched...
