A Mighty Heart (2007)

Honest , Powerfull .. Documentry.
I picked the DVD up , Not knowing a thing about the movie. Never watched the trailer or heard of it . To be honest i expected some heart-breaking love drama . But oh boy i was in for some traumatizing experience.
First of all , This is a heavy movie, Not for a typical action/comedy fan , It's okay to watch a little bit of everything and thats what i do . I try to appreciate everything in the movies i watch , If the plot falls short I'll praise the music or the director . But with this one , I had to find something else to praise .. And i did , I praise the fact that this movie is so Honest it hits me on a level i can't deny . This is no movie with heart-warming scripts and dialogs, and no mind blowing special effect or impossibly intelligent people coping with life . This is a women that had the courage not to break when others around her did. I'm sure others have noticed the fact that this movie doesn't attack Islam or Arab , But hits the target to express how inhuman ISI is. Also it showed how both sides suffered in the act of terrorism and extremism . Maybe it wasn't exactly politically correct, But i found the acting and the characters interactions so real. It felt exactly like watching a documentary but a powerful one. I am not surprised that people and critics gave this movie bad reviews, To be honest this movie is clearly not targeted to everyone and anyone, It's for those who have the power and will to understand more about what happened to Mariane Pearl through the unfortunate events. I'll give this movie 4 stars instead of 5 , Because i believe that no perfect work can be perfect , You see imperfection is the eye of perfection.

Angelina Jolie's best performance.
I've heard good things about director Michael Winterbottom's films, this was my first and I wasn't let down.
Here he tells the true story of the Wall Street journal reporter Daniel Pearl who was kidnapped on January 23, 2002. Possibly due to rumors of the Journal's link with the C.I.A, the fact he was Jewish, or because of the treatment of P.O.W.'s at Guantanamo Bay.
The story is told through his wife Marianne Pearl's perspective played by Jolie and the movie is based on her book. Jolie does her justice rather than the cliche role of the pregnant wife in films, she is strong and touching when she needs to be.
Irfan Khan also is very good as the captain of the Pakistani police, Khan was also in two other great releases in 07, The Darjeeling Unlimited and The Namesake.
The story has a somewhat real time feel of United 93 but not to such a great effect.
HD DVD:
Picture: The picture quality wasn't much a step above regular dvd and with Hd DVD's demise I was going to recommend saving money and buying the regular version. However, due to the demise of the format mentioned above as I write this the hd version is actually seven dollars cheaper. This is not a combo disc.

Moving and Unforgettable
I had read the book and was afraid that the movie would not do justice to the text. I was wrong, the movie is powerfully interpreted by Angelina Jolie. Not only she looks like Marianne Pearl but plays the role with the right emotion and is never excessive. All the characters are faithful to the description made in the book. One wishes that it was "just a story" but knowing that it is a true event which took place in today's world make this story necessary to be read and seen.
Daniel Pearl can rest in peace, knowing that his wife and family carry the torch of respect and tolerance in the beliefs he strongly defended.