Taxi to the Dark Side (R) ***1/2
By Mary F. Pols, Contra Costa Times
The images are notoriously familiar: leering U.S. military men and women standing over various torture victims, some of them on leashes, some naked, bloody and in humiliating poses. The soldiers pose as if on spring break, their faces carefree, their sense of right and wrong as absent as the sun at night.
These members of the military were dubbed the ''few bad apples'' by Bush administration officials, but the new documentary Taxi to the Dark Side painstakingly illustrates how the rot that reached them came from the highest branches of government. It demonstrates vividly how systematic torture -- in direct opposition to the Geneva Convention -- was an unwritten but well-practiced policy in U.S.-run prisons in Afghanistan, Iraq, Cuba and other countries.
The film, which won Best Documentary at this year's Academy Awards, is all the more powerful because of its on-screen interviews with regretful soldiers who admit to outrageous acts of brutality. Director Alex Gibney's title refers to Dilawar, a taxi driver from Afghanistan who drove off with three passengers one morning in 2002 and never came home again.
Dilawar spent five days imprisoned in Bagram, where he was kicked in the legs to the point of being ''pulpified.'' The combination of his injuries and being hung from the ceiling by handcuffs led to his death.
We learn too little about Dilawar as a human being; he's merely a way into the story. But his death attracted the attention of New York Times reporter Carlotta Gall and, eventually, a number of the soldiers who tortured him were charged with murder.
Watching these men grapple with the realization of what they did under the heading of ''duty'' is intense and painful. But it's necessary. With the current proliferation of wartime cinema -- both fictional feature films and documentaries -- about our campaigns in Afghanistan and Iraq, it takes scenes this shocking to make an impact on worn-out audiences.
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