It’s often the case that movies based on true
stories offer a glimpse of the real-life characters
at the end. In “The Mauritanian,” the story of
former Guantanamo Bay detainee Mohamedou
Ould Slahi’s 14 years behind bars, that real-life
footage is the most engaging part of the film.
That’s not entirely the fault of the filmmakers,
who do an earnest and thoughtful if less than
totally absorbing job of telling Slahi’s story
based on the best-selling memoir he wrote in
prison, “Guantanamo Diary.”