Gomgashtei dar Aragh

I must say that this film really amazed me. Marooned in Iraq did not have the best cinematography, or acting. What really amazed me were the characters Bahman Ghobadi created. The Kurdish culture defies all expectations of people living in a war torn area with so much grief upon them. Mizra a famous Kurdish singer and his two talented musician sons Barat and Audeh go on a journey to find Mizra's ex-wife. The journey takes place on the Iran-Iraq border during Saddam Hussein's attack on the Kurds. During the journey the results of Hussein's terror is seen as a constant reminder of the hardships that the Kurds have to endure. Even with all the reminders the trio set out on their journey and on their way comfort many grief stricken Kurds with their wonderful music.

The music in the film is so amazing that without knowing the lyrics I still felt entranced and could easily understand why music of the like is so cherished in a place torn apart by war. When ever music is not being played, and dialog not being spoken, you can hear the sounds of bombs and jets in the background. This addition of background sound creates much more than a setting. The sounds seem to be integrated with the Kurdish way of life.

It seems unbelievable that people that have gone through so much still have the heart for music and comedy in their lives. The ending of the film is very bitter sweet to me. The director leaves much to be imagined by the viewer. I like to think that everyone got exactly what they were looking for, even though they were not expecting to find it on the journey.

There where two very powerful scenes in the movie for me. The first being when the children threw the paper airplanes off the cliff side and the second being Mizra stomping over the Iran-Iraq border. They both feel like its the Kurds way of saying they cannot be bound to the land, and they won't be oppressed.

I would recommend this movie to anyone with an open mind, interested in learning about the Kurds from the Kurds, and willing to read subtitles. I do caution however, that the ending is typical of a middle eastern films, so do not expect the closure that comes with most western films.

Marooned in Iraq was a movie that surprised me. I knew it was a story about a famous Iranian singer and his sons, also members of what used to be his band, traveling to Iraq to help his ex-wife who ran off with his best friend, both of whom were also in the band. But I also knew that it served as a political statement about the war. For this reason I assumed it would be somewhat sad, and kind of boring as movies about war put me to sleep. But I was pleasantly surprised to realize that it was actually an interesting, funny movie. Of course it was serious at times, but the interaction between the characters was hilarious. It kept my attention and did not focus too strongly on the war.

All of the actors in the movie were new to acting, and with some characters you could tell. But the main characters do an amazing job! They get really into their roles, especially the men that play the sons, Barat and Audeh. The music in the movie is very good as well. The background music makes you almost feel like you're there, and when the characters start playing music, it makes you wish you were there. Although the movie was made with a very small budget, I didn't see any problems with how it was made. I thought it looked fantastic.

Marooned in Iraq is a story about duty, endurance, and hope. Mirza knows it is his duty to help Hanareh, the ex-wife he still loves. She asked for help and he did not think twice about immediately leaving on a long, dangerous mission to aid her. Barat and Audeh know it is their duty to help their father. Although Audeh complains the entire time, he never the less goes with his father to retain the honor of his family. Endurance and hope is prevalent in everyone in the movie. Their homes, families, and lives are destroyed, but they keep going. They help each other and keep hoping that things will get better because that's all they can do.

This movie is very good and I highly recommend it to anyone with an interest in the Middle East. It does a great job of showing the effects of war on the land and homes, and in the people themselves. It's also great for anyone who enjoys a good laugh and can stand subtitled movies. Although what was happening in Iran and Iraq at the time is depressing, it is an uplifting movie because it shows that even through tragedy life goes on.

I went to see this at a festival as a good-for-you topical film - kind of like eating brussels sprouts or something (apologies to those for whom brussels sprouts are a particular favorite). The filmmaker is an Iranian Kurd, and the film involves a journey from Iranian Kurdistan into Iraq.

Much to my surprise, it inspires a fair amount of laughter even in the context of extreme difficulties: a tent refugee camp for orphans in knee-deep mountain snow; voices and faces (never shown, but instead hidden in shame) disfigured by chemical weapons attacks and so on. These are present simply as part of the story's background, rather than like the shrill preachiness more typically seen on U.S. television news reports. Though I suppose one can't really fault journalists for being intensely serious when reporting on that part of the world.

The story is slim: someone is looking for something. They don't find it (her actually), but find other things which turn out to be of value. The man and his two (grown) sons have a larger-than-life bluster and recurring pratfalls which are a bit reminiscent of the Three Stooges. Laughter is good medicine, and these people have certainly earned the right to a heavy dose thereof. One example of the silliness: Our three travelers have their motorbike, clothes and musical instruments stolen by highway bandits disguised as police. Later, they get a ride on a truck and encounter two guys running through the snow in pastel-colored long undies and handcuffed together. They turn up a few times, always claiming to be cops but no one believes them, and they can't get any help.

Overall, an unexpected pleasure. Worth seeing.

I really liked this Ghobadi movie about life for the Kurds on the Iraq-Iran border. One thing I really enjoy in movies from that neck of the world is the fact that we're not dealing with professional actors here. Most of the characters are played by regular Joes and it adds on to the experience. "Marooned in Iraq" also shows the daily life of the Kurds, being bombarded by Saddam's planes. Interesting look at the culture, at the way of making a living, like at the brick work. As in "A Time for Drunken Horses", I was also very moved by the look in the children's eyes. The cinematography is also beautiful. And I enjoyed the traditional music. Rent this one (or get it at your local library like I did) and see for yourself Mirza's odyssey. It plays almost like a treasure hunt. One negative note though: I saw the film on DVD and I suspect that the subtitles didn't really captured what the characters were saying. Unless Kurds are using 10 words for 1 English or French one, I got robbed of a lot of the dialog. Too bad.

Seen at home, in Toronto, on September 16th, 2005.

80/100 (***)

"Marooned in Iraq (Gomgashtei dar Aragh)" has a really awful English title that they somehow thought was more marketable than whatever the Farsi or Kurdish original undoubtedly was; the print I saw was annoyingly constantly flickering and shifting; the white-on-white sub-titles were so illegible that folks in the audience who could make them out were reading them out loud to those who couldn't; and the meager sentences were inadequate to the lengthy shouting proceeding in the film.

And it was still a captivating movie.

While there's obvious ethnographic interest, like with "Atanarjuat (The Fast Runner)" and "Kandahar," in seeing first-hand a culture we don't regularly see humanistically, this picaresque quest could rank with Huckleberry Finn's down the Mississippi.

Here it's the arbitrary Iran/Iraq border dividing the Kurdish community around 1991. We're given almost no background information, but we gradually glean relationships.

A continuing joke is that in a community with only cast-off modern conveniences, rumors and reputation spread faster than humans can travel, even without robbings, Saddam's bombings, kidnappings, and familial arguments that thwart them. Hence, as they trudge from desert to snowy peaks, every one knows about their musical family that seems to be the Fleetwood Mac of Kurdistan, where their intertwined friendships, lovers, loyalties, and rebellions are as well known as their talents and become a passport through the frustrating literal and figurative mine fields of politics, greed, love, and devastation, they accidentally find their hearts' desires in unlikely places.

Their music is not only an identity card, but a unifying force as an uprooted people scatter from the serious and maintain the mundane, amidst a tyrant's gassings and family squabbles. Each character is memorable and distinctive, with unique motives, personalities, failings, and strengths.

It's a man's world here, but the quest is initiated and resolved at each crisis by strong-willed, practical women who are fiercely ensuring the survival of the next generation, culminating in a line straight out of Cameron Crowe's "Singles": "What took you so long?"

We are left in tears urgently hoping for the best as the quest leads to a surprising turn in the road for people we now care about very much.

The only credit translated into English is writer/director/producer Bahman Ghobadi.