5 Jahre Leben

5 Years

What would you prefer? Solitary confinement with non-stop glar ing neon lights, American pop tunes at full blast, and sudden, senseless beatings? Or to be locked up next to a fellow prisoner who’ll rat on you for a Big Mac? Perhaps the worst is having to kill your only friend, even if it is only a lizard …

Based on the true story of the German Turk Murat Kurnaz, who spent a total of five years as a U.S. prisoner in Afghanistan and Guantánamo, "5 Years" is an unflinching chronicle of unimaginable abuse and a duel between two iron-willed personalities.

The accused: Kurnaz, who wanted to give meaning to his life by turning to the Islamic faith and going on a pilgrimage to Pakistan right after 9/11. The accuser: U.S. government interrogation specialist Holford, who pulls all the stops of manipulation and fear, and whose main goal is to obtain a confession from Kurnaz. But Kurnaz can’t confess; he’s innocent.

And after many months elapse – months of physical and mental torture – Kurnaz realizes that Holford needs his confession, whether true or false, to win this battle and solve a diplomatic problem between America and Germany. Kurnaz knows that by refusing to sign, he is using the only power left to him. As Kurnaz settles into an indefinite, perhaps endless, prison term, he denies his captors the satisfaction of breaking his soul. Kurnaz chooses life, in spite of everything.

Source: German Films Service & Marketing GmbH