Iraq in Fragments
A filmmaker presents a triptych of daily life in Iraq.
So far, Iraq documentaries haven't taught us anything new, said Michael Wilmington in the Chicago Tribune. But James Longley's Iraq in Fragments "comes as close as we probably can to seeing for ourselves what's really happening there." The film's title refers not just to its subject'”the potential for a split into three nations, Sunni, Shiite, and Kurdish'”but also to its format. Longley presents his stories in three parts. The first follows a Baghdad 11-year-old from work at an auto shop to school, where he has failed to graduate from the first grade. The second documents raids by an al-Sadr'“led militia in Nasiriyah, and the third takes up residence in a rural Kurdish community where the issue of statehood pits generation against generation. The movie is so beautifully shot it sometimes looks like a Hollywood drama, said Nicolas Rapold in The New York Sun. But that means it "frequently threatens the limits of poeticizing so slippery a subject." It may seem like a worthy plan to take an Iraqi point of view, but that can "obscure as much as it enlightens." Actually, this is the tactile, honest movie we've needed from Iraq, said David Edelstein in New York. By committing to imagery, rather than speech, to understand the country, Longley succeeds where raw data has failed. "When you finally feel this place, you understand how little you understand."
Rating: Not Rated
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
-
Why more and more adults are reaching for soft toys
Under The Radar Does the popularity of the Squishmallow show Gen Z are 'scared to grow up'?
By Chas Newkey-Burden, The Week UK Published
-
Magazine solutions - December 27, 2024 / January 3, 2025
Puzzles and Quizzes Issue - December 27, 2024 / January 3, 2025
By The Week US Published
-
Magazine printables - December 27, 2024 / January 3, 2025
Puzzles and Quizzes Issue - December 27, 2024 / January 3, 2025
By The Week US Published