Review of Not Without My Daughter (1991) by Deb S — 25 Sep 2010

The story of Betty Mahmoody played by Sally Fields who've been living happily with her husband Moody and their daughter Mahtob in America for many years. Moody works as a doctor at the hospital but misses his family and home country Iran (he's been living and working in the US for the past twenty years). Betty is very reluctant to go to Iran because it was such a war torn and primitive country but Moody swears that everything would be alright and they would return in 2 weeks tops. Betty agrees and so the family boards a plane to Iran. But soon the horrible truth about their 'vacation' surfaces and Betty learns that her husband doesn't intend to bring his family back to America... ever. She may return, he says, but their daughter must stay. Being the good mother that she is she refuses to go without her daughter (hence the name of the movie). In a hostile, war-torn country, where even the slightest misstep can mean death, she makes a desperate bid to escape with her child.

I thought the transformation of Alfred Molina's character from caring, loving husband and father to an oppressive and cold-hearted fanatic was sickening but the movie didn't show details as to what prompted such a transformation. (Call me crazy but you're telling me that you've had a fairytale marriage for many years, and the wife never noticed anything odd about him, and then the air in Iran suddenly turns him into a nasty monster?).

Nevertheless, the story is told from Betty Mahmoody's experience and tells of her suffering, the people she met, how she got out and you get to see it through HER eyes.

Whatever one thinks about religion or cultural differences, the fact is that people ARE different. Moreover, the depiction of Moody as swinging from moderate to radical is based on Betty's memories. This is one woman's story and the viewer should draw his or her own conclusion.