Marooned in Iraq

Starring:Shahab Ebrahimi, Faegh Mohamadi, Allah-Morad Rashtian, Rojan Hosseini, Saeed Mohammadi, Iran Ghobadi, Fathollah Sa'edi, Mariam Pouyani, Bahram Sarbazi, Hossein Rashid-Ghamat
Director: Bahman Ghobadi
Studio: Fox Lorber
Product Type: DVD

Description

During the Iran-Iraq war, an aging Iranian-Kurd musician hears that his wife, a singer with a magical voice who deserted him for his best friend and fled Iraq, is in trouble. He cons his two sons into acompanying him on his search for her, and they embark on an adventure filled with music, romance and danger. Acclaimed Iranian director Bahman Ghobadi's (A Time for Drunken Horses) award-winning film uses humor and wit to dramatize the plight of the Kurdish people.

Customer Reviews:

Typical Ghobadi.......2007-02-07

Not as impressive like "A Time for Drunken Horses" or "Turtles also can fly", but still a great testimony of the life in Kurdistan.

non-stop screaming.......2005-12-09

Sure the film is about hardship in a very difficult place, wonderfully shot, and all. but the film will assault you with NON-STOP SCREAMING. I love difficult cinema but this kind of screaming-dialogue is insane! The characters scream at each other constantly. Screaming in pain, screaming for love, screaming for vengence, screaming for ice cream! The film makers would have done us a favor if they would've included a second audio track of pure high-pitched white noise.

"We can always say we're on tour.".......2005-11-07

The Kurdish film "Marooned in Iraq" from director Bahman Ghobadi is set shortly after the first Gulf War. An elderly Kurdish musician named Mizra (Shahab Ebrahimi) lives in a remote village in Iran. Mizra receives a vague message for help from his ex-wife Hanareh--a woman with a beautiful voice who left Iran where "singing is forbidden for women" to take her chances in Iraq. After receiving the message, Mizra gathers up his two middle-aged sons Barat (Faegh Mohamadi) and Audeh (Allah-Morad Rashtain) and they head into Iraq. It's an arduous, dangerous journey. They pile into Barat's old motorbike and sidecar, and leave the relative safety of their primitive village--equipped with little more than their musical instruments. Audeh complains loudly that he doesn't want to leave his 7 wives and 11 daughters. Barat, on the other hand, is happy to accompany his father--although he doesn't understand why Mizra making a near-impossible journey to help a woman who ran off with his father's best friend 23 years earlier.

On the way to Iraq, Mizra and his sons encounter hardship and adventure--including an aggressive bridegroom, camps of orphans, and marauding bandits. Mizra is famous among the Kurdish population for two things--his music and his cuckoldom. And these two things go hand in hand--the acclaim of the former soon brings on the memory of the latter. Whenever the three men stop and take out their musical instruments, crowds instantly gather. Misery and suffering take a back seat--at least temporarily--to the rare opportunity to experience the joy of music. The film does not contain a great deal of dialogue (Persian and Kurdish with English subtitles). The plot is sparse, and intense--yet the infusion of humour and hope combine to make "Marooned in Iraq" a superb film.

"Marooned in Iraq" stands as a testament to the crimes against the Kurds conducted by Saddam Hussein, and for anyone interested in how Saddam was given chemical weapons in the first place, I recommend "Spider's Web: The Secret History of How the White House Illegally Armed Iraq" by Alan Friedman--displacedhuman

Puts a face on a "faceless" people.......2004-10-06

This film gets you up close and personal with the Kurds, a people with no country of their own. It gives you a glimpse of their suffering at the hand of Saddam's regime, their hopes, dreams and the geography that they call their home. Some very funny parts too... like the scene with the young lady telling off the old guy with too many wives. The brick factory scenes constitute some particularly interesting camera work.

Across the Border: Three Kurdish Musicians' Road Movie.......2004-07-13

The Kurdish film director Bahman Ghobadi ("A Time for Drunken Horses") gives us his second film, about three musicians, the aged father and his sons, who are going to find the father's wife who left him long time ago. The film is benefited from the beautifully shot pictures, with a clear-cut portraits of the main characters. And this is rare with films from Iran (where the director was born), but the film has enchanting ethnic music which is not to be missed.

During the time of the war between Iraq and Iran, Mirza, once very popular singer, receives sad news: his wife Hanareh, who eloped with another musician and went to Iraq years ago, is in great trouble. Mirza, living in Iran, decides to see her, but that means he must cross the border, where the snow-capped mountains prevent the access. So he summons his sons, Audeh and Barat. Barat happens to have a motorcycle, and Mirza takes no for answer even if Barat and Audeh (they are not Hanareh's sons, and think her as disgrace to the family) refuse to accompnay him.

So they start the journey to Iraq, hearing the incessant, terrifying noise of jet fighters. The film traces their travel sometimes with a comical touch, but it ultimately raises its tone to the very somber feeling at the end where Mirza comes to know what happened to Hahareh, and other thousands of the Kurdish people in Iraq.

The film is made with an agenda, which is not hidden at all, but thankfull it is free from any obvious political messages or preachy words. Anyone who are interested in the Middle East must know the sad history of the Kurdish people, and the film uses the knowledge as the backdrop against which the three convincingly made characters move. They are all flawed, often bickering to each other, but eventually overcome the obstacles set in their ways, if not the harsh reality surrounding them.

The film's great merit is its music. In fact, the three main leads are all played by the real musicians, and the film occasionally allows them (and other Kurds, who are really enjoying the sound) to play some tunes, which are fascinating. The film eloquently shows that the Kurdish people are in a way characterized by their music and the joy, which cannot be taken away even by the bombers or dictators.

The film is slow-moving, but the move is steady and skillful, with the visual flair of the director. "Marooned In Iraq" is a simple and beautiful film with its understated but clear message.

Hahareh (Iran Ghobadi) is actually played by the mother of the director.

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