BlazeLime Strong and Moving!

Ameriatch One of the best films i have seen

Reptileenbu Did you people see the same film I saw?

DipitySkillful an ambitious but ultimately ineffective debut endeavor.

troskaya Watching this film is like taking a journey through the land of the Kurds, at the border of Iran and Iraq. It is also like visiting another world. I found it stunning, wild. The unusual characters who scream at each other instead of talking, the music, the crazy situations, the weather-beaten faces and soulful eyes, and that scenery of rugged mountains and vast terrain covered in icy snow. It's tragic because of their lives -- the harsh weather conditions, deprivation, and the nomadic lives they are forced to lead as Saddam Hussein unleashes bombs and chemical weapons upon them. Yet, it's comic -- and yes, the comedy is intentional. I'm specifying that because of viewers here who have written the strangest reviews about this film.Mostly American viewers, they admit that it is difficult for Americans -- those Americans who don't watch foreign films or even atypical slow-moving American films -- to appreciate this film, and demonstrate that by calling it boring, or unintentionally funny, or pointless. Most of those viewers end their reviews by commenting that only those interested in the Middle East would enjoy this film. But I think anyone who is capable of empathy with people from a different culture and a far away land whose lives are filled with hardship and pain would find this film valuable. Or anyone who is able to let go of all the ideas about how films "should" be made and western notions about the way plots and subjects should be treated.It's a learning experience, but it's enjoyable to watch. I loved the characters. I loved the scenes in which the women were working or burying their dead -- it showed their tremendous strength. I loved the scenery and the children.If you see this film, make sure to watch the director interview in the special features -- he explains a lot about why he filmed in the snow and how humour and music are so important to the Kurds. The director knew what he was doing. I think he did it quite well. It was a film that made me laugh and cry and helped me to understand more of what Kurdish life is like. I'd watch it again, and I hope to see more films of this type.

mccoycn "Marooned in Iraq" was a bit humorous. It wasn't a movie that I would normally watch but it was interesting to see a different culture. By viewing this movie I have learned different ways the Kurdish people perform their daily duties. It was by far different from the American culture of daily livings. It was also interesting to see the Middle East and comparing it to other parts of the country like North America.The set of the movie was different than most American movies. The director made the journey that Mirza, Audeh, and Barat look as if they had a long way to go till they got to their destination. The set made the characters of the film look tiny in the desert and in the snow as if the director was filming from a far distance. The editing of the film was also different because as the characters were talking among each other the subtitles were a little off. It seemed as if their conversation they were having was longer than the subtitles.The story of three famous musicians that have a journey ahead of them to find Mirza's ex and to find Audeh a wife to have a son. As the journey went they had went through some conflicts like their belongings got stolen from them and they got beat by the thieves. Those conflicts put a little bit of a delay on their journey, however, they seemed to make it to their final destination. The film as also kind of sad because Mirza was on a journey to find his ex, however, they was still married even though Mirza told every one they were divorced to save the honor of his family. After he got to the place where she was it was still sad to know that after all that he had been through on this journey he still did not get to see Henareh.I would recommend anyone to see this movie because it's different and you learn a lot from the film. The film represents the Arabic culture that we in North America don't see that often. It's a funny and interesting movie to watch. There is a little humor, sadness, and a different culture to learn about. Its also a little confusing but its worth watching.

bigmoecrusader The Story of a well-known Iranian Kurdish singer Mirza, and his two sons, called Marooned in Iraq, can be interpreted in many ways. One of the major issues Mirza and his two sons are obviously facing are there relations with women. There journey to find Mirza wife from many years past, is one of transformation and discovery for the three men. There struggles with woman are seen thought the movie, and at the conclusion of the story, the three men had a better understanding of woman.Mirza was a very old man in the story, and he had found out that his ex-wife was in trouble in Iraq. And with the help of his two sons, he searched for his ex-wife Hanareh. One of the reasons Mirza drove away his ex-wife was his prejudice against her and the prejudice he had against women in general. After years of being separated from her, he had realized and had a better understanding of his problem; his journey to find her began when he had heard word that she was in trouble. Mirza encounters unexpected events at the end of the story, and it showed that the Will of God was the reasoning behind these events.Barat one of Mirza's sons, was also facing a struggle during the movie. Barat seemed to be withdrawn from the world, what makes this apparent was how he was always wearing his sunglasses. His struggles with women in his past years have been unsuccessful, and while his brother had 11 wives he had no wives. Barat was also prejudice against woman and because of this prejudice; he drove off a woman that he had fallen in love with because he said she couldn't sing in public. During his long journey he looses everything, his motorcycle, cloths, money, but what he found was the life that he had forgotten. He runs into the woman with the pretty voice in Iraq, and he realizes who he really was and the life that he wanted. Even though Barat was withdrawn from the world, because of the Will of God, he found the woman he wanted to marry.Audeh the second son to Mirza struggled for years to produce a male ere. After marrying 11 wives he had still not come up with a son. On his journey to find Hanareh, he was searching for another wife to try and produce a son. But he soon realized that he could adopt a son from hundreds of orphans. The unexpected events that led up to him finding out that he could just adopt a son, made it apartment that between the Will of God, and having deep faith in God his prayers did come true. Just like in many foreign movies that haven't had the American influence on them, there was no resolution, and there was a great deal ending that was left up for interpretation. The director made it apartment that he wanted the ending left for the audience's imagination. The director gives us hints, but it's up to us to decide what happens to the family. If you watch this, you will be awed by the landscape, but the plot of the movie is very boring in the literal sense, and very exciting in the philosophical sense.

iterlongum The movie, "Marooned in Iraq" is about a man's search for the women he loved, who happened to leave him for his best friend. He is accompanied by his two sons and they journey across Iraq and Iran to find their father's beloved ex-wife.Throughout the film, you see homes that have been turned into piles of rubble because of the bombing of Iranian Kurdistan by Saddam Hussein. These destroyed homes are symbols for the families that have been wiped out during Saddam's purging of the Kurds from Iran and Iraq. A heartbreaking example is shown when the father, Mizra, and his two sons, Barat and Audeh, come upon a teacher giving a class to a group of children, who are orphans, in the mountains on the Iran/Iraq border. The teacher is teaching the children about bombs and planes. The teacher explains that the planes are the things that fly overhead with people in them and that they drop the bombs. He then explains to the children that the bombs are the things that caused the houses to be destroyed and death of their parents. The teacher has to link those things together with the destruction of their homes and death of their families. Then the children through paper airplanes into the air over the edge of an outcropping and the sound of warplanes can be heard flying overhead.This shows that the Kurds are separate from the rest of the people of the Middle East, as they indeed view themselves, and that they are a resilient people. They are determined to keep surviving and living their lives no matter the circumstances. This act shows Saddam that he will never be able to destroy them and that all of his bombing and chemical warfare is futile. They are one people who will help each other through anything and nothing that break that bond. This is a very powerful statement from such a small group of people.I would recommend this film to anyone who likes to see the "little guy" triumph over the "big guys" in their actions, indirect though they may be. The film may seem slow to an American, but it will sustain your interest.