Acensbart Excellent but underrated film

CommentsXp Best movie ever!

Doomtomylo a film so unique, intoxicating and bizarre that it not only demands another viewing, but is also forgivable as a satirical comedy where the jokes eventually take the back seat.

Allison Davies The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.

Jen1285 Mizra asks his sons, Barat and Audeh, to go on a journey to find his ex-wife, Hanareh, and help her. His sons think they are still married and she ran away. The father won't tell them the real truth because he knows they won't help him if they're not still married. He has been told she is in trouble, but he doesn't know how.Mizra went on the journey to find Hanareh, Barat just went along for the ride, and Audeh went to find himself a wife that could produce him a son. I thought this movie was interesting because it kept you wanting to know what happened next. On their journey they had many stops to try and find out exactly where Hanareh was. At each of the stops it was as though something else aside from finding her was going on with one of the brothers.Since the movie was in Kurdish, Persian, and Arabic reading the subtitles made it harder to pay attention to every detail that was going on in the movie, but didn't keep me from understanding what was going on. The subtitles were hard to read at some points because they were yellow and it seemed to blend in at times. This was when my attention was taken away from the actual picture part of the movie to try and understand what they were saying. It was easy though to get back into the movie after I understood what they were saying.Since this is a more romantic movie with them being in the search for love I think women would enjoy this movie more than men. The long journey the family takes all in the search for love ends up being broken up. In the end not everyone finds what they were looking for… or did they?

iterlongum The movie, "Marooned in Iraq" is about a man's search for the women he loved, who happened to leave him for his best friend. He is accompanied by his two sons and they journey across Iraq and Iran to find their father's beloved ex-wife.Throughout the film, you see homes that have been turned into piles of rubble because of the bombing of Iranian Kurdistan by Saddam Hussein. These destroyed homes are symbols for the families that have been wiped out during Saddam's purging of the Kurds from Iran and Iraq. A heartbreaking example is shown when the father, Mizra, and his two sons, Barat and Audeh, come upon a teacher giving a class to a group of children, who are orphans, in the mountains on the Iran/Iraq border. The teacher is teaching the children about bombs and planes. The teacher explains that the planes are the things that fly overhead with people in them and that they drop the bombs. He then explains to the children that the bombs are the things that caused the houses to be destroyed and death of their parents. The teacher has to link those things together with the destruction of their homes and death of their families. Then the children through paper airplanes into the air over the edge of an outcropping and the sound of warplanes can be heard flying overhead.This shows that the Kurds are separate from the rest of the people of the Middle East, as they indeed view themselves, and that they are a resilient people. They are determined to keep surviving and living their lives no matter the circumstances. This act shows Saddam that he will never be able to destroy them and that all of his bombing and chemical warfare is futile. They are one people who will help each other through anything and nothing that break that bond. This is a very powerful statement from such a small group of people.I would recommend this film to anyone who likes to see the "little guy" triumph over the "big guys" in their actions, indirect though they may be. The film may seem slow to an American, but it will sustain your interest.

queenofcrystals Marooned in Iraq was a movie that surprised me. I knew it was a story about a famous Iranian singer and his sons, also members of what used to be his band, traveling to Iraq to help his ex-wife who ran off with his best friend, both of whom were also in the band. But I also knew that it served as a political statement about the war. For this reason I assumed it would be somewhat sad, and kind of boring as movies about war put me to sleep. But I was pleasantly surprised to realize that it was actually an interesting, funny movie. Of course it was serious at times, but the interaction between the characters was hilarious. It kept my attention and did not focus too strongly on the war.All of the actors in the movie were new to acting, and with some characters you could tell. But the main characters do an amazing job! They get really into their roles, especially the men that play the sons, Barat and Audeh. The music in the movie is very good as well. The background music makes you almost feel like you're there, and when the characters start playing music, it makes you wish you were there. Although the movie was made with a very small budget, I didn't see any problems with how it was made. I thought it looked fantastic.Marooned in Iraq is a story about duty, endurance, and hope. Mirza knows it is his duty to help Hanareh, the ex-wife he still loves. She asked for help and he did not think twice about immediately leaving on a long, dangerous mission to aid her. Barat and Audeh know it is their duty to help their father. Although Audeh complains the entire time, he never the less goes with his father to retain the honor of his family. Endurance and hope is prevalent in everyone in the movie. Their homes, families, and lives are destroyed, but they keep going. They help each other and keep hoping that things will get better because that's all they can do.This movie is very good and I highly recommend it to anyone with an interest in the Middle East. It does a great job of showing the effects of war on the land and homes, and in the people themselves. It's also great for anyone who enjoys a good laugh and can stand subtitled movies. Although what was happening in Iran and Iraq at the time is depressing, it is an uplifting movie because it shows that even through tragedy life goes on.

grkracer35 Director Bahman Ghobadi of Marooned in Iraq does a good job of showing the everyday life of the nomadic Kurds under the chaotic rule of Saddam Hussein but perhaps Ghobadi forgot he was making a movie not a documentary. Outside of the last thirty minutes, this movie is poorly put together. Missing subtitles, pointless scenes, unintentional humor, and random characters plague this film.Within the first twenty minutes the entire plot is given away leaving the middle to be nothing but unintentional humor with a few bumps along the way. The overall seriousness of the film was cast aside by the humor of the not so bright Barat, and the bumbling Audeh. From Barat not being able to speak to women, and Audeh wanting a son so bad that he'll ask anyone for their hand in marriage, the subplot is almost meaningless. While this kept the movie moderately entertaining, the light hearted side of the film is forgotten once Mirza reaches the area in which Hanareh is supposed to be. The honest scenes of mass graves and weeping women are just all too surreal once it's on screen. It is these last scenes in the movie that really take it to another level and is completely unexpected with what the viewer is being shown throughout the earlier parts of the film.Overall this film is fairly enjoyable with many problem areas such as editing, subtitles and overall meaning of the film. The first twenty and last thirty minutes are the only needed parts of film; the rest merely seems to be filler to create a whole film. The closing scenes will take your breath, but it still begs the question of whether it makes up for having to watch the not-so-worth-it middle parts. This film is far from anything Hollywood especially the ending and therefore I would not recommend this for the average American movie-goer. If anyone is interested in the life of Kurds or anyone living during the Iran-Iraq War, this film will certainly enlighten you.