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Marooned in Iraq (2003)
Tomatometer
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Reviews Counted:27
Fresh:25
Rotten:2
Average Rating:7.6/10
Genre: Foreign Films
Synopsis: A famous Iranian singer, Mizra (Shahab Ebrahimi), and his two sons partake in an epic journey across hazardous terrain in director Bahman Ghobadi's MAROONED IN IRAQ. Set in the aftermath of the... A famous Iranian singer, Mizra (Shahab Ebrahimi), and his two sons partake in an epic journey across hazardous terrain in director Bahman Ghobadi's MAROONED IN IRAQ. Set in the aftermath of the Persian Gulf War, the ultimate aim of the journey is to search for Mizra's missing ex-wife, who fled Iran to find solace in Iraq when the war pulled a sudden halt to her singing career. The harsh terrain the men encounter results in experiences that run the full gamut of human emotions, from lighthearted, slapstick interplay, to the discovery of a mass grave of dead Iranians. Omnipresent throughout the film are the sounds of Saddam Hussein's jets flying overhead, which serve as a reminder of the treacherous nature of the men's trip. Iranian resident Ghobadi has created a moving tale of strength, resilience, and spirit in a time of extreme adversity. He skillfully weaves a dizzying array of emotions into his tale, allowing him to muse on the human condition, and illustrate the plight of the Iranian people as they suffered in the fallout of the Gulf War. Ultimately Ghobadi strives, and succeeds, to illustrate how his country was able to adapt, recover, and pull together in a time when it was physically and emotionally devastated. [More]
Starring: Shahab Ebrahimi, Iran Ghobadi, Faegh Mohamadi, Allah-Morad Rashtian
Starring: Shahab Ebrahimi, Iran Ghobadi, Faegh Mohamadi, Allah-Morad Rashtian
Director: Bahman Ghobadi
Director: Bahman Ghobadi
Screenwriter: Bahman Ghobadi
Producer: Bahman Ghobadi
Studio: Wellspring
Reviews for Marooned in Iraq
Ghobadi's witty dialogue successfully balances pathos and humor in palatable fashion
A sorrowful road comedy set in a place where hardship and humor are brothers in arms.
Marooned in Iraq is touching, funny, riveting, devastating and rife with extraordinary images.
It's a movie that works on many levels, including symbolic and metaphorical.
Impresses with its varied notes and clear understanding of the powerful entertainment value in a road picture spryly maneuvering across heavily mined terrain.
Ghobadi does a professional job of melding these disparate parts together, carefully using the hard, scraggly Kurdistan landscape and the overhead sounds of war as tie-ins.
It puts a face and name to people and events we hear about nightly on CNN.
The Kurdish filmmaker Bahman Ghobadi made an impressive feature debut with the tragic tale of child smugglers A Time for Drunken Horses. Events in his second movie, Marooned in Iraq, are even more heart-rending.
Even though the film's tone grows ever more elegiac, it stubbornly remains a celebration of the Kurdish capacity to endure.
Moving from the harsh reportage of his first feature, A Time for Drunken Horses, Kurdish filmmaker Bahman Ghobadi looks at life through the all-seeing but forgiving lens of comedy.
Ghobadi has found a way to use the quest of one man to show all the problems in Kurdistan. It's interesting, occasionally funny and thought-provoking, but doesn't quite capture your heart.
Eliciting affecting performances from his cast of nonprofessionals (all with fascinating faces), Ghobadi manages to balance the inhumanity with humanity.
Though Marooned in Iraq falls short of greatness, its timing couldn't be more brilliant.
Here is an immensely touching and compassionate film about the harassed and persecuted Kurdish people fleeing from Iraq towards the Iranian border; it will open your eyes and your heart as well.
Part rollicking road picture, part ardent homage to ethnic homeland, and part unexpected last laugh for Iran-based Kurdish director Bahman Ghobadi.
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