Two guards. One cell. Zero idea who's inside. The tension is unbearable.
The story of two Italian men who are posted to Iraq on a mysterious mission to guard the cell of a prisoner in Abu Ghraib prison. What's strange is that neither man knows who is inside; they must simply follow orders not to let anyone enter or leave the cell. As time passes their nerves are tested and they begin to wonder whether their charge could be Saddam Hussein...
Acting
Leto and Stante carry 80 minutes of pure psychological warfare.
Direction
Chicco stretches minimalism to its absolute breaking point.
Director
Max Chicco
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Shot on a shoestring budget with largely unknown actors, the film deliberately mirrors its characters' isolation—minimal crew, minimal information, maximum unease.
Released when Abu Ghraib was still raw global memory, the film weaponizes audience knowledge—we're more certain than the guards, and that certainty is uncomfortable.
IT
