Marooned In Iraq: Real Life Considered

I've been in a movie-mood lately.

I just watched Marooned In Iraq, by Iranian filmmaker Bahman Ghobadi, for the second time with a friend who watched it for the first time. After an hour, my friend says "Am I not getting something?" Although he'd been enjoying the humor and the characters, he looked bored. I can't blame him. The story of an Iranian Kurdish father and his sons walking across country into Iraqi Kurdistan to find the father's lost love moves at exactly the same pace as it would to walk across the country. And that's the beauty of it. It bores you just as real life bores you, but the day after you've watched it, you recall the wrinkled faces and quirky mannerisms of the main characters, the vast natural landscapes and changing skies, the villagers-turned-nomads warming their hands on makeshift fires, airplanes symbolizing war and freedom simultaneously through the destruction of lives and the hope of children as they watch them soar.

Although the film takes 97 minutes to watch, the real affect comes over you in the days after. There's a lot to consider as this film's message unfolds slowly - just like life.

Persepolis in SF: Window of Understanding

This evening I saw the film Persepolis, (also a book) by Marjane Satrapi and Vincent Paronnaud, with a full crowd at the Embarcadero theatre in San Francisco. An important film that offers a simple and humorous method for delivering a complex and emotional message - as I walked out of the theatre, I had a sense of relief that possibly this film will help more of the masses understand (or care to understand) about the details of Iranian history, Iranians themselves, and reassess their own opinions about the current political situation.

That hope was fractured however by the time I reached the theatre lobby. Overhearing film-goers commenting to each other on their first impressions, I heard assessments that notated the entertainment value but not the content of the film. "The animation was incredible", and "it was long, wasn't it?", but not a lot of vocal comments about the story. In their defense, maybe it was too much to digest into a meaningful comment so quickly.

I hope those who see this precious film will not measure it only by its entertainment value, but also by the unique window of vicarious experience it offers. This is not just entertainment - it really happened, and it's still happening. It's more of a documentary than it is an animated film and hopefully will be categorized as such. Although there are so many scenes that had me roaring in laughter, the one that stays with me is the vision of Marjane's horror when she realizes she is seeing her dead neighbor's body in the rubble. Close your eyes for a moment and imagine you are a little boy or girl again - coming home after school only to find the familiar hand of your neighbor peeking out from under piles of stone and dust. No, this is not just a movie for your Friday night entertainment.


My friend once told me in all seriousness that he thought Edvard Munch's The Scream summed up the overall life experience in Iran. Apparently, he's not alone.


I'm also concerned about right-wingers using this film to strengthen opposition against the Islamic Republic in the name of war. I can hear it already: "See how they treat their people? They need to be saved from that evil government."

And indeed they do, but while there are few who stand up for how the theocratic IR has hijacked the people of Iran in their own country, the answer is not going to be found in dropping bombs.

Actually I think we can all learn more from modar e bozorg's use of jasmine flowers...

Here's another perspective on Persepolis, from AlterNet.org.