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Movies / On DVD / Marooned in Iraq
Marooned in Iraq

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Marooned in Iraq (2003)

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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

[See More Credits]

Reviews for Marooned in Iraq

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1 - 20 (sorted by fresh rating; UK critics are listed first)
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Full Review Source: Time Out | comment Comment
06/24/06
Derek Adams
Derek Adams
Time Out
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Impresses with its varied notes and clear understanding of the powerful entertainment value in a road picture spryly maneuvering across heavily mined terrain.

Full Review Source: Boston Globe | comment Comment
06/06/03
Boston Globe

Eliciting affecting performances from his cast of nonprofessionals (all with fascinating faces), Ghobadi manages to balance the inhumanity with humanity.

Full Review Source: E! Online | comment Comment
05/03/03
E! Online

Though Marooned in Iraq falls short of greatness, its timing couldn't be more brilliant.

Full Review Source: Newark Star-Ledger | comment Comment
05/02/03
Bob Campbell
Bob Campbell
Newark Star-Ledger

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.

Full Review Source: Los Angeles Daily News | comment Comment
05/23/03
Bob Strauss
Bob Strauss
Los Angeles Daily News

The generalizations and speculations of the television anchors and commentators fade away in the face of a film like Bahman Ghobadi's Marooned in Iraq.

Full Review Source: New York Times | comment Comment
04/25/03
Dave Kehr
Dave Kehr
New York Times
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

This peripatetic yarn is less resonant than Ghobadi's beautiful A Time for Drunken Horses, but it has enough energy to keep your eyes popping and your toes tapping.

Full Review Source: Christian Science Monitor | comment Comment
04/24/03
David Sterritt
David Sterritt
Christian Science Monitor

A sorrowful road comedy set in a place where hardship and humor are brothers in arms.

Full Review Source: Milwaukee Journal Sentinel | comment Comment
09/18/03
Duane Dudek
Duane Dudek
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

Less shrill than Samira Makhmalbaf’s Blackboards, Bahman Ghobadi’s latest is also less didactic.

Full Review Source: Slant Magazine | comment Comment
04/07/03
Ed Gonzalez
Ed Gonzalez
Slant Magazine

No review available.

comment Comment
09/12/05
Emanuel Levy
Emanuel Levy
EmanuelLevy.Com

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.

Full Review Source: Spirituality and Practice | comment Comment
05/01/03
Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat
Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat
Spirituality and Practice

It puts a face and name to people and events we hear about nightly on CNN.

Full Review Source: San Jose Mercury News | comment Comment
06/05/03
Glenn Lovell
Glenn Lovell
San Jose Mercury News

A road-and-buddy movie, Kurdish style, that effectively illustrates the damage Saddam Hussein did against Kurdish villages.

Full Review Source: Compuserve | comment Comment
04/17/03
Harvey S. Karten
Harvey S. Karten
Compuserve

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.

Full Review Source: L.A. Weekly | comment Comment
05/22/03
Henry Sheehan
Henry Sheehan
L.A. Weekly

This lusty, heartfelt movie has a near Brueghelian visual energy and a humanist passion as contagious as its music.

Full Review Source: Village Voice | comment Comment
04/22/03
J. Hoberman
J. Hoberman
Village Voice

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.

Full Review Source: Combustible Celluloid | comment Comment
06/06/03
Jeffrey M. Anderson
Jeffrey M. Anderson
Combustible Celluloid

Ghobadi's witty dialogue successfully balances pathos and humor in palatable fashion

Full Review Source: Old School Reviews | comment Comment
11/05/03
John A. Nesbit
John A. Nesbit
Old School Reviews

Often very funny and poignant.

Full Review Source: Newsday | comment Comment
04/25/03
John Anderson
John Anderson
Newsday

It's a movie that works on many levels, including symbolic and metaphorical.

Full Review Source: San Francisco Chronicle | comment Comment
06/06/03
Jonathan Curiel
Jonathan Curiel
San Francisco Chronicle

On a miniscule budget, Ghobadi conveys the terror of war, while the beautifully edited sequence in which Iranian villagers make bricks resembles nothing so much as a choreographed dance number.

Full Review Source: TV Guide's Movie Guide | comment Comment
04/25/03
Ken Fox
Ken Fox
TV Guide's Movie Guide
 
 
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