Eliciting affecting performances from his cast of nonprofessionals (all with fascinating faces), Ghobadi manages to balance the inhumanity with humanity.
Marooned in Iraq (2003)
Tomatometer
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Reviews Counted:27
Fresh:25
Rotten:2
Average Rating:7.6/10
Rated: Not Rated
Genre: Foreign Films
Theatrical Release:Apr 25, 2003 Limited
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
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Reviews for Marooned in Iraq
Impresses with its varied notes and clear understanding of the powerful entertainment value in a road picture spryly maneuvering across heavily mined terrain.
Though Marooned in Iraq falls short of greatness, its timing couldn't be more brilliant.
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.
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.
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.
A sorrowful road comedy set in a place where hardship and humor are brothers in arms.
Less shrill than Samira Makhmalbaf’s Blackboards, Bahman Ghobadi’s latest is also less didactic.
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.
It puts a face and name to people and events we hear about nightly on CNN.
A road-and-buddy movie, Kurdish style, that effectively illustrates the damage Saddam Hussein did against Kurdish villages.
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.
This lusty, heartfelt movie has a near Brueghelian visual energy and a humanist passion as contagious as its music.
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.
Ghobadi's witty dialogue successfully balances pathos and humor in palatable fashion
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