Sundance Presents Two Timely War Documentaries
The Ground Truth and The Road to Guantánamo Explore Sobering Issues
Tomorrow marks the fourth anniversary of the Iraq War, which officially began on March 20, 2003. To commemorate the decidedly grim occasion, the Sundance Channel is airing two thought-provoking documentaries tonight on its regular “documentaries all day, Mondays” DocDay. Each Monday, the cable network debuts a brand new documentary at 9pm, as well, and today is no different. The first of the two films is director Patricia Foulkrod‘s 2006 entrant at the Sundance Film Festival, The Ground Truth: After the Killing Ends. Through engrossing firsthand accounts, the filmmaker permits Iraq War veterans to express their experiences as direct participants in and survivors of active combat duty, including their attempts to persevere at home in the United States despite an often unconcerned and uncommitted government and public.
Following at 10:15pm, British director Michael Winterbottom and co-director Mat Whitecross‘ 2006 docudrama The Road to Guantánamo explores the complicated predicament of three British Muslims of Pakastani descent: Ruhal Ahmed, Asif Iqbal, and Shafiq Rasul. During a 2001 visit to Afghanistan, the so-called “Tipton Three” were taken prisoner by the Northern Alliance in a sweep of suspected enemy combatants and terrorists, transferred to the United States’ infamous prison camp at the Guantánamo Bay Naval base in Cuba, and subsequently held for almost three years without charges or legal representation and under constant interrogation and torture. Sundance obviously aims not to sugarcoat the present situation, an admirable stance given the number of soldiers and civilians from all around the world who remain caught up in the continual violence and despair of the Middle East’s unrest. [On TV: Monday, 19 March 2007, Sundance, 9pm & 10:15pm EST]
Other Good Stuff on TV Tonight
- Dancing with the Stars: The highly anticipated fourth season of the celebrity dance-off starts with a roster of fresh faces from the entertainment and sports industries, in addition to a bevy of enthusiastic trained dancers. [4th-Season Premiere/ABC/8:00]
- Deal or No Deal: Oh, yes, it’s ladies night on NBC’s hit game show, a special two-hour edition made even better for female viewers by the 26 hunky firemen who’ll replace the customary briefcase models. [NBC/8:00]
- Everybody Hates Chris—EVERYBODY HATES DJs: You’ve got that right, especially when you mess up your mom’s favorite album while filling in for one, opening the doorway for guaranteed painful punishment. [The CW/8:00]
- I, Robot: Two-time Oscar nominee Will Smith stars in yet another entertaining, action-packed big-screen flick, this one loosely based on the science fiction works of author Isaac Asimov. [FX/7:30]
- The New Adventures of Old Christine—STRANGE BEDFELLOWS: It looks like Old Christine will finally meet her match in the form of a polar-opposite political activist-slash-foe, played by razor-tongued actress-comic Sandra Bernhard. Uh-oh… [CBS/8:30]
- ‘Til Death Do Us Part—THE AIRPLANE MURDER/FUNERAL PARLOR MURDER: B-movie legend John Waters plays the Groom Reaper—Get it? Grim versus groom?—in Court TV’s first-ever original scripted series, which uses dramatizations and Waters’ omniscient commentary to enact tales of marital mayhem and murder. [Series Debut/Court TV/10:00 & 10:30]
All times are PM and EST/Eastern Standard Time
The Ground Truth: After the Killing Ends photo courtesy of Focus Features
