Bin Laden film see A part of movie (video)

 

BBC Talking Movies' Tom Brook reviews the film and meets the director

A new film about the hunt for Osama Bin Laden is "inaccurate" for suggesting torture helped lead to his discovery.

That is according to three US senators who outlined their objections to Zero Dark Thirty in a letter to the head of Sony Pictures Entertainment.

Kathryn Bigelow's Oscar-tipped drama, their letter claims, is "perpetuating the myth that torture is effective".

In a statement, Bigelow said her film depicts "a variety of controversial practices and intelligence methods".

According to the director and Zero Dark Thirty screenwriter Mark Boal, no single method was responsible in the successful manhunt for the terrorist leader.

The letter, made public on Wednesday, was co-signed by Dianne Feinstein, Carl Levin and former Presidential candidate John McCain.

The trio, all of whom are members of the Senate Intelligence committee, said that Sony and its CEO, Michael Lynton, had an obligation to alter the movie.

"The fundamental problem is that people who see Zero Dark Thirty will believe that the events it portrays are facts," the three senators wrote.

"The film therefore has the potential to shape American public opinion in a disturbing and misleading manner."

Senator John McCain is one of the three co-signatories

The senators said the "use of torture in the fight against terrorism did severe damage to America's values and standing that cannot be justified or expunged".

The makers of Zero Dark Thirty, they went on, had "a social and moral obligation to get the facts right".

"I've watched the film and I can tell you there's no doubt the impression that you get from the film is that waterboarding did elicit information... that was instrumental," Mr McCain told the BBC.

"It certainly conveys the impression that this treatment of detainees is somehow justified,"

Mr McCain said he would "like to have them to make a statement that some of this depiction is not factual in a very important way... it's not just a side aspect of it".

Earlier this year Bigelow's film was accused of being a propaganda tool intended to assist President Obama's re-election campaign.

The release of the film was subsequently put back until after November's election.

It was also claimed Boal, who previously worked with Bigelow on Oscar-winning drama The Hurt Locker, had been granted access to classified information, an allegation he denied.

The film, which has been nominated for four Golden Globes, is released in the UK on 25 January.

Uruguay 'may legalise cannabis'

The government in Uruguay is considering taking the production, sale and distribution of cannabis under state control.

Supporters of a bill before the country's congress claim it will reduce criminal activity, but opponents say it will lead to more drug use.

Vladimir Hernandez reports from Uruguay.

Rape protesters battle Indian police for 2nd day

NEW DELHI (AP) — Police in India's capital used tear gas and water cannons for a second day Sunday in a high-security zone to break up protests by thousands of people demonstrating against the gang rape and beating of a 23-year-old student on a bus.

Police chased angry protesters with batons as they fought pitched battles to try to get past steel barricades and a wall created by hundreds of policemen to reach the president's mansion to present their demands. "We want justice," they shouted.

Television footage showed that some protesters were injured in the clashes.

The demonstrations continued Sunday despite Home Minister Sushilkumar Shinde promising to consider their main demand for death penalties for all six suspects who have been arrested by police following the Dec. 16 attack.

Shinde said Saturday night that the government was taking steps to better ensure the safety of women.

A group of protesters met Sonia Gandhi, the governing Congress party chief, and her son and lawmaker Rahul Gandhi, on Sunday and demanded a speedy trial of the suspects.

Popular yoga guru Babar Ramdev stood on the roof of a bus and pledged support to the protesters. "The government must set up fast-track courts to punish the offenders in rape attacks," he said.

The attack one week ago has sparked days of protests across the country. The victim is recovering from injuries in a New Delhi government hospital but is still in critical condition.

After battling the protesters throughout the day on Saturday, authorities early on Sunday banned their entry into the high-security zone, which also houses the offices of the prime minister and defense, home and external affairs ministries. Police evicted dozens of protesters who had spent the night there.

However, as groups of protesters marched through the streets of New Delhi and began converging on the high-security area on Sunday, authorities withdrew the ban on the assembly of more than five people there. But it set up barricades to keep them away from the president's residence.

Protesters tried to break the police cordon repeatedly by hurling stones and water bottles and pressing against the steel barricades. Policemen responded by firing tear gas and using water cannons against them. The battle continued throughout the day.

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