Not Without My Daughter

Starring:Sally Field, Alfred Molina, Sheila Rosenthal, Roshan Seth, Sarah Badel, Mony Rey, Georges Corraface, Mary Nell Santacroce, Ed Grady, Marc Gowan, Bruce Evers, Jonathan Cherchi, Soudabeh Farrokhnia, Michael Morim, Gili Ben-Ozilio, Racheli Chaimian, Yossi Tabib, Amir Shmuel, Ya'ackov Banai, Dafna Armoni
Director: Brian Gilbert
Studio: MGM (Video & DVD)
Product Type: DVD

Amazon.com

The Arab anti-defamation leagues understandably had a field day with this one. Sally Field plays Betty Mahmoody, an American who marries an Iranian (Alfred Molina) and has a child. They go back to Iran for a visit and, to her horror, he tells her he's decided to stay there. If she wants to leave, she must leave her daughter behind. If she stays, Betty must live in a culture vastly different and, she believes, very dangerous. Part thriller, part culture clash, the film certainly takes advantage of Americans' perceptions of Iran after the unrest of the '70s and early '80s. Molina is truly despicable as the husband, while Field projects a lot of overheated anguish as Betty tries to figure out a way to escape the country with her daughter. Overheated, in fact, is the word for the whole melodrama. --Marshall Fine

Description

Two-time OscarÂ(r) winner* Sally Field adds another powerful acting triumph to her gallery of great roles in the suspense thriller Not Without My Daughter, a riveting true story of terror and escape. Betty has come to the Middle East with her daughter and native-born husband(Alfred Molina, Spider-Man 2, Species) for a visit with his family. But soon the horrible truth about their vacation surfaces. Betty's husband doesn't intend to bring his family back to America...ever. She may return, he says, but their daughter must stay. And he has centuries of local custom and the oppressive might of a police state behind him. As a stranger in a foreign land, Betty has no money, no friends and no rights. But she does have an unconquerable will. In a hostile, war-torn country, where even the slightest misstep can mean death, she makes a desperate bid to escape with her child. Her story, her courage and her ultimate triumph are unforgettable. *1979: Actress, Norma Rae; 1984: Actress, Places in the Heart

Customer Reviews:

A sad disappointment :(.......2007-06-26

After being absolutely mesmorised and captivated by the book, I was excitedly awaiting the film, and when I finally tracked a copy down, set up infront of the TV, with a nice snack and drinks and awaited...

What I received was a HUGE disappointment :(

Where to start.... Sally Field and the actress playing Mahtob were perfectly cast, however the problems started with the casting of the character of Moody (her husband). Due to the very nature of the book (and movie) it was necessary to be repulsed and disgusted by him... and this was impossible. The actor was too soft/harmless looking, and even his behaviour once they were in Iran was VERY different from the book. I wonder whether Betty Mohmoody was consulted for the making of the film, and I assume she would have been, however it must not have been very much, or she did not have the ability to ensure the accuracy of the film, and it was not in the LEAST convincing. The novel was PETRIFYING, absolutely addictive, as I identified with Betty and adored Mahtob in their fear of Moody. However, if Moody was not a convincing object of terror, then the entire point and reasoning for the writing of the novel were lost.

Many other things were altered for the movie too:

1) In the book, Christmas is DELIBERATLY not celebrated, due to muslin custom, and this is cause of great depression to Betty and little Mahtob, however in the film they DO celebrate it.

2) Another very significant issue, was that in the book, the sqalor and dirtiness of the homes in Iran were very carefully articulated, with great attention to detail, however in the film, they were 'average' lower-middle class homes, and therefore not the grotesque living environments portrayed in the book.

I would advise ANYONE to READ THE BOOK AND BE VERY VERY HESITANT to view the movie, and it may shatter your experience of the power of the novel.

I was really dissapointed, and would be delighted with a future re-shoot of the film, however

Ignorance is Bliss.......2007-02-06

It's quite amusing listening to Western audiences view this film as some sort of factual documentary on Iranian culture. A dramatized production, based on a one-sided book which in itself is dramatized with inconsistencies. This must be what passes for cultural education these days.

I suppose the Westerners whom have gone to Iran and come back speaking of beauty and the warmth of the people obviously are suffering from a delusional disorder. And the ones whom probably haven't stepped foot outside of their own backyard and rely on the news and Hollywood movies as their cultural guides are the authority.

These are the same people who believe the president of Iran stated "Israel will be wiped off the map". With a little research, they would see that this was a gross dramatization, aimed towards the truly naive. But maybe those people don't care for the truth. I guess it's true what they say; Ignorance is bliss.

Will make you cry!.......2007-01-10

Beware! This movie is a TEARJERKER! (even for men!) The struggle the main character has to go through with the sudden change of her husband is astonishing, compelling, and full of a fire to live and escape. Not for younger kids, too high of an emotional scale. A great picture of how life has been (and still is) for these kinds of people.

DVD Purchase.......2007-01-06

This DVD was in perfect condition and actually was received prior to the date originally expected.

dramatic indeed, but that's about it.......2006-12-11

This film angered me for the same reasons that have made it so I can no longer watch American television news without feeling like I am being deliberately misled by a media that doesn't think I will catch on. This film is a perfect example of the sort of Orientalist discourses based on cultural stereotypes that have permeated the mainstream of American mass media. The film completely ignores the dynamic history of Iran, and how the Islamic Revolution was welcomed by many who were disheartened by the effects of globalization in their region. As Vincent Canby so aptly put it in his review of the film for the New York Times: "The Iranian revolution appears to have taken place mostly to make life miserable for the insufferably superior Betty" (Canby, "Sally Field, Fervently." New York Times. January 11, 1991). Furthermore, the film describes and interprets all events exclusively from Betty's Western perspective, and neither Islam nor the people of Iran are allowed to respond to her criticisms. The film (though probably not intentionally) takes to heart Jameson's view that cultural stereotypes are an inevitable consequence of two disparate cultures coming to terms with one another, and proceeds to builds an entire movie around it. Finally, the film oversimplifies Moody's character, denying any and all internal conflict that might have existed as a result of what could be described as a postcolonial understanding of self, in order to set him up as the despicable Middle Eastern foil to Betty's admirable Western ideals.

Average customer rating:

Depends on whose mother we are talking about

Ultimate Mother's Day DVD Giftset

ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

General | Comedy | Genres | DVD | Video

General | Drama | Genres | DVD | Video

Drama | Boxed Sets | Stores | DVD | Video

Romantic Comedies | Boxed Sets | Stores | DVD | Video

Happy Feet (Full Screen Edition)

ASIN: B000NQQ014
Release Date: 2007-04-10

Amazon.com

This giftset includes 14 favorite heartwarming and hilarious romantic comedies including: Baby Boom, When Harry Met Sally, Thelma & Louise, Mystic Pizza, Four Weddings and a Funeral, Hannah and Her Sisters, Mermaids, Not Without My Daughter, At First Sight, Women In Love, Paperback Romance, Heart Breakers, Moonstruck and Beauty Shop.

Customer Reviews:

Depends on whose mother we are talking about.......2007-03-17

This is really not a collection of 14 romantic comedies as the description says, but probably all of them could be classified as "chick movies". Nine of them are five star films and are so well known they really need no introduction - Baby Boom, When Harry Met Sally, Thelma & Louise, Mystic Pizza, Four Weddings and a Funeral, Hannah and Her Sisters, Mermaids, Women In Love, and Moonstruck. The other five movies are between three and four stars - Not Without My Daughter, At First Sight, Paperback Romance, Heart Breakers, and Beauty Shop. None of them are bad films. "Not Without My Daughter" is definitely no romantic comedy, and neither is "Thelma & Louise". Both have serious dramatic content. "Not Without My Daughter" definitely looks like it was made as an Oscar vehicle for Sally Field, and may be hard to watch for some people due to its intensity. It is based on the true story of a woman trying to take her daughter out of Iran without her husband's consent. "Paperback Romance" is not what it sounds like. Rather than being some silly Harlequin-type romance it is a pretty smart film that has a lot to say about disability and how it is perceived. "Heart Breakers" sounded good - a mother and daughter team conning wealthy men - but it just never pulled itself together, and "At First Sight" was just too slow for my taste. I liked "Beauty Shop" a great deal, but I am a real Queen Latifah fan, and I can see how you might not like the movie as much as I did if you aren't a fan of hers. The best way I can describe it is a female version of "Barbershop", which I also liked.

I'd say this is a very economical way to own these 14 films, and would make a great gift for any fan of chick flicks, but that is not an assumption you can make about all or even most mothers.

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