Review of Iraq in Fragments (2006) by Andrew G — 27 Aug 2008

I'm getting fed up with four star movies! Alot of the movies I've seen recently I have rated 4 stars. I wouldn't mind watching a bad movie soon, its fun writing negative criticism. Anyway this next four star movie is quite different, just because its a documentary.

This documentary is split into three seperate parts showing how Iraq has fallen since Saddam stopped being in power. He has never passed first grade at school and can just write his name. He leaves his old employer and starts working for his uncle, who he saysthere is love with, but his uncle just seems to always get at him for school, work, everything bascily.

This part is a good, strong introduction. One of the ain reasons its a strong part is because it is told from the prespective of a child, it makes it more honest. The boy's prespective of Iraq is very mature.

It talks of how beautiful it used to be. It also shows how the people's opinions in his living environment affect a young boy's opinion, who hasen't quite yet matured enough to grasp his own opinion of his country's current state.

The future is un-sure for this boy, weather he finishes school is not told, its just un sure. Part two is quite abit weaker than part one. It starts off pretty boring, it takes its time to get into the subject, unlike the first part.

But once this part gets going, its quite harrowing and effective. The Shi'ite disciples of Moqtada al-Sadr hate the Americans and feel they can kick out the opressors and are a new leaderhsip after the rule of Saddam.

No they're not. As shown in this film, they are just as bad, Iraq is in turmoil and they are not helping. The scene that really shows this, probaby the most effective part of the whole film, is when they take down a marketplace.

But they end up arresting the wrong people. They think they were selling alcohol. When the prisonors are in prison they say how they think that things are just as bad as they were when Saddam was in power, at least his grip of fear managed to keep them going and stopped the country from ever falling in to what it is now.

The arresting scene works due to its fast editing. It skimps out on showing violence, which does work for its advantage as just a couple of drips and drops just make it seem more simple and yet violent.

Part three only really works as near the end, as the rest of it is just really following a family who mostly relys on the male offspring to do the work. This part didn't fit in as well with the rest of the movie, and it feels abit out of place.

ONly near the end of it does it make sense, when they start talking about wether it is fair to see Iraq in parts. That does give meaning to the movie. Where there is nothing that particualy stands out in part three, it conclues the film nicely.

Really this film was just trying to show the different opinions, living of people in different areas and what Iraq as turned into after Saddam. Like the boy said, it is no longer a beautiful city, tanks, cars and helicopters controlled by Americans patrol the streets.

Director James Longley focuses mostly on close ups and just having narration of the people the parts are focusing on. It works well to take in the Iraqi environment. If you are defiantly intrested in this sort of thing than you should watch it, it does give an intresting in-sight to Iraq.