Syn Babilonu

Diverting away from the usual politically-driven theme, this film of war-torn Iraq seeks fundamental qualities in humanity amidst the very worst situations from the eyes of a grandmother and her grandson in seek of her missing son. The characters have taught us that the slightest shimmers of hope will always be around somewhere during the darkest moments in life and pull us through.

Set in the war-hit landscapes of Iraq, we truly get to see the crumbled physical state that the country is left in three weeks after the fall of Saddam Hussein. Location plays a major role in helping to set the foundation of this film that reeks of desolation without a future (notice how barren the lands look without much greenery). From the mass media, we are often brought to the attention of the battle between the US/UN forces and Saddam's regime where a lot of focus are placed on casualty counts and the war development.

This film sets to tell a heartfelt story that will never be heard of by the world.

Ahmed is a naive young boy who is often optimistic about his life and all that surrounds it, despite being able to see with his own eyes the turmoil of his homeland. Everything is fresh to him, from his missing father's occupation as an Iraqi soldier to greeting the US Marines at check points. During the entire span of this film, Ahmed gets to see the world and attains enlightenment at the end of it.

He is not without fears, especially when he is left alone without his grandmother.

Surprisingly when they face threats that serve to undo them with injustice, he gathers courage to step up against the tyranny and correct what is wrong. He has the nerves to confront a bus driver for a fare refund when the bus was unable to bring them to Baghdad. This highly signifies the potential and capabilities of the young Iraqi generation who can help do the right thing and rebuild the nation. Likewise Ahmed's grandmother also looks to him for support and courage while mutually reciprocating the same, which represents the elder generation looking towards and pinning hopes on the younger ones for protection.

After all, they're only left with each other of what's left in the family (or nation rather).

Ahmed's father represents the current working generation that is affected by the cruelties of tyranny and misfortune that have long plagued Iraq. The mass graves discovered are only going to leave a huge trail of grieving families of the dead. I was personally disturbed by the death wailing of the widows at the mass grave sites.

Initially leaving home to seek the whereabouts of Ahmed's father with hopes of him being alive, the plot developments later degenerated into a heart-wrenching situation where they have no choice but to be contended with seeking his remains to bring home. This proves to be an arduous task that is bleak, but it has not deter them a single bit.

During their journey, they meet interesting characters such as a grumpy old pick-up driver who is cynical about everything and reluctant to take concern in others' matters. He condemns Saddam's regime (interestingly by calling him up during his call of nature) and has stopped placing faith in religion after all that has happened. His opening chapter brought quite a bit of humour through his crude sarcasm, I would say.

Ahmed and his grandmother later inspired his love and care to surface.

Another fine gentleman who was coerced into killing innocents during the Anfal (mass massacre of the Kurds) greets Ahmed and his grandmother with kind intentions. It wasn't easy for Ahmed's grandmother to put the Anfal behind and see him as a repented man.

Son of Babylon speaks a lot about embracing forgiveness and moving on towards a better life and future despite current dark moments with a focus on qualities of humanity over hatred and blame. Largely in credit to Director Mohamed Al Daradji, he has done us a great favour as we gain new insights and valuable lessons in life.

The first impression was pretty much hopeless. I wondered why they made a movie with such a desperate plot.

But recalling each scene in the movie, everyone in the movie was so kind. The movie starts with a scene that an old woman and her grandson walk middle of nowhere in the desert of Iraq. They are Kurdish. They were severely persecuted under Saddam Hussein ruling. Three weeks after the Hussein regime fell, they started the travel from Kurdistan, northern Iraq, to Nasiriya, southern Iraq, where the woman believes her son is confined in the jail. The distance between Kurdistan and Nasiriya is about 700 km according to the Google map. The first truck driver ignored the boy's exclamation to stop, but he was an exception. All other people who encounter the old woman and the boy are very kind, despite many of them can not understand her Kurdish.

Through the TV and newspapers, our image of Iraq is chaos and hate. Deadly suicide bombings are daily events. Government is still in turmoil. And the conflicts between Arabians and Kurdish, or Sunni and Shi'ah do not end. In this movie, however, people sympathize, help and forgive each other. What does the title "Son of Babylon" mean? Babylon is the name when the country was in the highest glory. The dream of the woman and her grandson to see the hanging garden of Babylon did not come true. But this movie may be telling us to see the hanging garden covered by green leaves, beyond the desperate reality, by helping each other.

This is the first Iraqi film that I have seen and what a stunningly emotional introduction to the cinema of a country that is presented so differently in Hollywood movies. "Green Zone", "The Hurt Locker", "In The Valley Of Elah", "The Kingdom" ... these are all essentially an American view, the victor's perspective. Here 31 year old writer and director Mohammed Daradh - who studied film making in London - has crafted a totally contrasting work. It looks different: it was actually shot in Iraq and not in Jordan or Spain. It sounds different, deploying a mixture of Kurdish and Arabic. And the subject matter is different: the victims of Saddam Hussein and especially the suffering of the Kurds in the north of the country.

The two central performances - an old woman (Shazada Hussein) and a young boy (Yasser Talib), respectively the hopeful mother and the bewildered son of a missing Kurd forced to be a soldier in Saddam's army - are so powerful and poignant and their journey highlights the true victims of the dictatorship, all those who went missing and whose bodies may never be identified. The final location of Babylon reminds us that one time this was one of the richest and most civilised locations on earth.

This is a movie that shows to reality of people living in Iraq. After wars, American invasions. The rich history and lives of common people are destroyed.

If you are interested in an antiwar movie, it's quite good and sad. It's a story about a mother and sons search for there father, during the war. We also get to see both the helpful and greedy parts of the world. The contrast between the sorrow felt by the old mother and the young boy searching for his father is clearly visible.

If you have 1 and a half hour and want a relaxed and sad story based in the real world it's definitely for you..

When we think of Iraq, we picture a war torn country which had seen the worst of a dictatorship under Saddam Hussain, where it spent many years in conflict with Iran, before the UN moved in during Desert Storm to liberate occupied Kuwait, followed by the US led invasion in Desert Storm II. Western media continue to pepper us with news that internal strife continues to this very day with news of suicide and miscellaneous bombings, and I'm sure we're more than curious to want to know about tales from within, rather than agencies from the outside that continue to paint it like a war zone. This is as close as you can go on a road trip from Northern Iraq to Baghdad, onward to Nasiriyah then Babylon.

Son of Babylon deals with the missing generation, and a mother/grandson's search for their son/father, who was taken by force years ago during the Gulf War, and hasn't been heard since. Set three weeks after the fall of Saddam Hussain, the film opens with the young boy Ahmed (brilliantly portrayed by a flute holding Yasser Taleeb) and his grandmother Um- Ibrahim (Shehzad Hussein) beginning their long quest for answers and closure, and it is through their eyes and witnessing their experiences, do we get a glimpse of just how emotionally daunting and physically challenging this quest is, amidst a stunning on location backdrop of an Iraq we never get to see, until now.

Written, directed and lensed by Mohamed Al-Daradji, his story touches on the experiences of three generations of Iraqis, as Ahmed and Um-Ibrahim come into contact with Musa (Bashir al-Majid), an ex-Republican Guard about the same age as what their son/father would be if found, and how his life got filled by the war time atrocities that he had to commit under orders. The narrative puts our trio on a never-ending search as they get bounced and referred to another city where other mass graves have been found, suggesting an inexplicable nationwide genocide that had taken place which accounted for the thousands of people who have disappeared.

The story will also open eyes to how diverse Iraq is, with language and cultural barriers from within the population as they struggle to communicate with one another (usually dismissed fairly quickly when one speaks a different language), only to share common ground in their history of grief brought about through the ravages of war. It's not all doom and gloom all the time as the film does contain some light hearted moments courtesy of Ahmed, and his significance cannot be ignored in a film that closes with a bittersweet end to suffering, and the hope placed on today's youth who have to forge their own way ahead on a long, dusty road of uncertainty. Ahmed demonstrates his street-smartness, haggling abilities and knowledge of his rights, that I think he epitomizes the spirit of the new generation who are competent in holding their own ground.

Travelling the world's various festivals, picking up a multitude of awards and being Iraq's official entry to the Academy Awards next year, this is not an easy film to sit through as it does get a little bit exasperating with the outward show of gloom that will sap your emotional energies, but to the patient viewer it rewards with its beautiful sweeping visuals of a land that most have not had a chance to see, and a poignant story on forgiveness, reconciliation and internal healing that must begin for a nation emerging from its ruins. Recommended!