Review of Jim: The James Foley Story (2016) by John R — 24 Feb 2016

This movie depicts a loving man, who is also a deeply confused journalist in Syria and his tragic end. The extended descriptions of he captivity of the journalist hostage group does little to illuminate the source of conflict.

The film maker failed to make clear except in passing how public his mother became in criticising the US government for forbidding payment of ransoms or doing anything. Instead her words come across as private sentiments.

The failure to analyse what ISIS is and why it is doing what it is doing is a disservice to the public. Foley's last statement was the most clear, yet the film makers use the brother's comments to discredit it.

Even if his last words were written by the captors, they reveal their intentions. The US invasions of Iraq in 1990, and 2003 set the stage for the zone of chaos to spread throughout the middle east. ISIS isn't just about bad people, its a movement created by US imperialist aggression.

ISiS is clearly horrific, but to defeat it their nature must be understood and this film does little to transmit that. Sadly it exploits the suffering of the family and hostage for little illumination.

In the end the film makers projection of the brutality of ISIS serves those who want military intervention in Syria.