Both celebratory and elegiac.
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
Reviews for Marooned in Iraq
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.
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.
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.
This lusty, heartfelt movie has a near Brueghelian visual energy and a humanist passion as contagious as its music.
A road-and-buddy movie, Kurdish style, that effectively illustrates the damage Saddam Hussein did against Kurdish villages.
Less shrill than Samira Makhmalbaf’s Blackboards, Bahman Ghobadi’s latest is also less didactic.
[Ghobadi's] directorial maturation is reflected not only by Marooned in Iraq's balanced temperament, but also by its more traditional visual approach.
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