Human Weapon (2003)

Synopsis: For those unsatisfied with sensational television coverage featuring "terrorism experts," HUMAN WEAPON provides the first sober, in-depth examination of the complexities of the suicide bombing... For those unsatisfied with sensational television coverage featuring "terrorism experts," HUMAN WEAPON provides the first sober, in-depth examination of the complexities of the suicide bombing phenomenon. Filmed in Iran, Lebanon, Sri Lanka, Israel, Palestine, Europe and the United States, HUMAN WEAPON weaves dramatic, previously unseen footage together with interviews of key militants whose organizations use suicide bombing as part of their strategy. It supplements these scenes with powerful human stories. - In Iran, the film looks at the "prototype" for the human weapon - the Basiji - young volunteers who were recruited to sacrifice themselves on the battlefield during Iran's long war with Iraq. - In Lebanon, the film combines interviews with key leaders of Hizbollah (the Party of God) and a former CIA agent with rare archival material and footage of a haunting visit to the family of a martyr. It also explores the very first suicide bombings - attacks directed at the U.S. Embassy and Marine barracks in 1983. - In Sri Lanka, the films examines the Tamil Tiger separatist movement, which took suicide bombings to the next level by launching hundreds of suicidal attacks against both military and political targets. - In Israel and the Palestinian territories, the film interviews failed suicide bombers, key leaders of Hamas and other militant organizations, Israeli doctors, and Palestinian psychiatrists. The film draws an intimate portrait of a recent suicide bomber and his community on the West Bank, to trace the recent phase in the evolution of suicide bombing: the ultimate weapon of terror, the political strategy of targeting civilians. - Finally, in the United States, HUMAN WEAPON explores, with the help of well-known author Robert Jay Lifton, some of the far-reaching historical ramifications of suicide bombing. HUMAN WEAPON is not primarily concerned with suicide bombing as a local phenomenon in a particular conflict. Rather, it strives to understand the recent history, and how the introduction of this new weapon has unleashed a different kind of warfare, whose impact we are yet to grasp. -- © First Run/Icarus Films [More]

Director: Ilan Ziv

Director: Ilan Ziv
Studio: First Run/Icarus Films