The Web (2024)
| The Web | |
|---|---|
 Theatrical release poster | |
| Directed by | Mujahid el-Mahmood |
| Written by | Aadam el-Salloum |
| Starring | |
| Cinematography | Suhaib Dawood |
| Music by | Adrione Montalbo |
Release dates |
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Running time | 136 minutes |
| Countries | Emmiria Zamastan |
The Web is a 2024 political thriller drama film directed by Mujahid el-Mahmood and written by Aadam el-Salloum. The film stars an ensemble cast, including Majdi al-Saad, Awad Nouri, Faadil Minhas, Malika Benayoun, Mujahid el-Mahmood, Grayson Simmons, Aycan Kashani, and Jannat Zia. The plot follows a high-profile terrorism case which unexpectedly binds together two ex-lovers on the defense team, testing the limits of their loyalties and placing their lives in jeopardy.
Plot
A bomb planted in a lorry detonates in Hazarabad's Haitham Market killing 120 people. The police receive an anonymous tip and arrest Dhaakir al-Amen, a Jiddiyan immigrant, as the terror cell leader and mastermind of the attack. Two other members of the cell die in the bombing and the fourth is killed by police in a shoot-out during the raid to apprehend him. When al-Amen's defence commissioner commits suicide, Taahir Tamer is appointed by the Justice Minister to replace him, joining special advocate Haala al-Mady. Due to national security concerns, al-Amen's case follows closed material procedures; Haala represents al-Amen during closed sessions with a judge ruling what evidence is permissible for Taahir to use in the open public trial. EIA Agent Haazim el-Hamdan is assigned to provide Haala with the closed material and monitor her activities.
Taahir discovers that despite his extensive criminal record, al-Amen was somehow quickly approved for immigration from his previous residence in Sulifa to Emmiria and within six months was living well beyond his income. Working with members of the ZIS, he finds proof that al-Amen is really Bassaam Aziz, a member of a terror cell responsible for bombing a Zamastanian Air Force base in Sul-Ajman a few years prior. Bassaam cut a deal with prosecutors to avoid prison, agreeing to work as an informant for EIA by infiltrating the London terror cell and providing EIA with information to make arrests. Taahir suspects that after the Haitham Market bombing, EIA feared their botched operation would be publicly blamed as directly financing terrorism and sought to have Bassaam take the fall and suppress any evidence of EIA involvement. Taahir and Haala discussed the matters discreetly during the Emmiria national football team match at the Hayr Stadium.
In the first closed court session, EIA Agent Raita el-Rahimi reveals that Bassaam's son Amir had hacked into his father's laptop and had provided valuable information to EIA. The judge orders Amir's testimony in court, deeming it relevant to the case. Amir, who is being monitored by EIA agents at a safe house with his mother, manages to escape to his aunt's home. He meets with Taahir and Haala, giving them a flash drive detailing his father's involvement with the EIA terror cell operation. Taahir and Haala realize EIA will kill Amir to protect themselves and go on the run with him overnight, planning to have him testify in court the next day. Amir testifies in closed session, but Bassaam is later murdered in prison and made to look like a suicide by hanging. With Bassaam dead, the case collapses and all evidence of the EIA operation is suppressed from public disclosure. Amir and his mother, however, are allowed to remain in Emmiria.
Three months later, as Taahir and Haala rekindle their romance that resulted in Taahir's divorce from his wife, information of EIA's involvement in the Haitham Market bombing is anonymously leaked to the media.
Cast
- Majdi al-Saad as EIA Agent Haazim el-Hamdan
- Awad Nouri as Numair
- Faadil Minhas as Defense Commissioner Taahir Tamer
- Malika Benayoun as Azia
- Mujahid el-Mahmood as Justice Minister of Hazarabad
- Grayson Simmons as ZIS director Emerson Kelly
- Aycan Kashani as EIA Agent Raita el-Rahimi
- Jannat Zia as Special Advocate Haala al-Mady
- Isaac Faria as ZIS Agent Holden Brown
- Christof Grün as ZIS Agent Victor Bagshaw
- Aiden Reventon as himself
- Zakariyya el-Madani as Dhaakir al-Amen/Bassaam Aziz
- Aayaat Hadi as Fauuda
- Naseeba Naim as Jeelaan al-Baccus
- Faisal el-Quadri as Husain Nazar