Review of Midnight Express (1978) by Robert S — 19 Oct 2007

Pretty damn powerful drama about an American tourist who tried to smuggle hash out of Turkey and got nabbed for it.

I have to say, I don't quite understand the controversy about this - at least not in terms of it being a piece of propaganda about how bad Turkey and all the Turkish people are. I didn't feel that was the message at all. For me, the film showed what prisons turn people into - be they inmates or guards. It also plays well as a cautionary tale about what sort of mercy you can expect from the world at large if you put yourself in a bad situation i.e. don't expect much! As for Hayes' outburst in the scene where his sentence is lengthened, well, why wouldn't you hate the people who you see as your tormentors? This could have happened in many countries - judicial and corrective systems in first world coutries are often corrupt, so why should Turkey be any different? I'm not arguing that the film is not manipulative at all (especially the fact that Oliver Stone didn't see fit to write a positive Turkish character into the script, which Hayes himself objected to), but this is a film, not a piece of objective journalism. If you want to protest about manipulative media, turn your attention to the network executives who manipulate public opinion to their own ends via the prime time news every day, under the guise of "objective news journalism".

Back to the film, and putting the subject matter aside for a moment, I think Parker's direction is quite understated - in fact, some scenes look almost documentary-like. As the film progresses and Hayes' situation becomes more and more dire, the cinematography seems to produce darker, almost fantastically nightmarish scenes. Brad Davis is fantastic in the lead role. John Hurt is always able to project an aura of desperation, and he is also terrific as a drug-addled cell-mate.

Not a particularly enjoyable experience, but a fine film, whatever your view of its ethics.