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Iraq in Fragments (2006) -- Stories from modern day Iraq as told by Iraqis living in a time of war, occupation and ethnic tension.
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Overview

User Rating:
7.2/10   711 votes
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View company contact information for Iraq in Fragments on IMDbPro.
Release Date:
19 January 2007 (UK) more
Genre:
Plot:
Stories from modern day Iraq as told by Iraqis living in a time of war, occupation and ethnic tension. full summary | add synopsis
Awards:
Nominated for Oscar. Another 10 wins & 4 nominations more
NewsDesk:
(3 articles)
User Comments:
Best documentary so far about the Iraq War that is based on the experiences & perspectives of Iraqis themselves more (18 total)

Cast

  (Credited cast)
Mohammed Haithem ... Himself
Suleiman Mahmoud ... Himself
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Additional Details

Runtime:
94 min
Country:
Language:
Color:
Aspect Ratio:
1.85 : 1 more
Sound Mix:
Filming Locations:

Fun Stuff

Trivia:
James Longley traveled to Iraq twice prior to the 2003 war but was unable to begin principal photography until the Saddam Hussein regime collapsed in April 2003. more
Movie Connections:
Featured in The 79th Annual Academy Awards (2007) (TV) more

FAQ

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4 out of 6 people found the following comment useful.
Best documentary so far about the Iraq War that is based on the experiences & perspectives of Iraqis themselves, 25 December 2006
9/10
Author: (roland@atkinsononfilm.com) from Portland, Oregon, United States

A brilliantly made documentary, the first about Iraq that focuses exclusively on the people of that troubled land, rather than on the U.S. military occupation forces. The title is a triple entendre. We know that the country has been fragmented from its beginnings after WW I as a stitched together confederation of disparate Kurd, Shia and Sunni territories. Iraq was, of course, further fragmented as a consequence of the recent U.S. invasion. The title also refers to the cobbling together of fragments of footage shot at different times and places to create this film.

James Longley shot nearly 300 hours of film over a two year period, from April, 2003, to April, 2005. He has edited his material to produce a series of three stories, film fragments skillfully arranged to show us differing perspectives. Part I is set in Baghdad, and is Sunni slanted. Part II is set primarily in Naseriyah and features the radical Shia movement led by Muqtada al Sadr. Part III is set in the north, in rural Kurdish country.

Longley permits the people who live in these places to tell their own stories. There are no expert talking heads, no editorializing voiceovers. Youngsters as well as adults have their say (though every speaker is male; Longley says he has footage of women that could become the focus of another film). We venture into schools, marketplaces, religious and political rallies.

It is evident that only the Kurds here consider the American presence beneficent. But the only Shia element that is given voice here is the most anti-American, al Sadr's group (in Part II). We know that among the larger Shia majority, opinions about the U.S. are to some degree more variegated. It almost goes without saying that the Sunnis, the group most closely affiliated with Saddam's reign, is almost unanimously anti-U.S.

The artistry of Longley's film is breathtaking. His cinematography is first rate, with marvelous use of close-ups of people from imaginatively conceived camera angles, sometimes against distant scapes. One scene shows just hands and forearms of people in a crowd as they are reaching up for pamphlets: it is a stunning image.

The footage is high resolution with vivid coloration, except for several minutes of grainy footage with poor light quality near the end of Part II. The editing and sound are also wonderfully realized. While someone is talking, the camera drifts to images that complement or supplement what the speaker is saying. The film won best documentary awards at Sundance 2006 for direction, cinematography and editing. All well deserved. (In Kurdish, Arabic & English) My grades: 9/10 (A) (Seen at the Portland (OR) International Film Festival on 02/23/06)

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Message Boards

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Recent Posts (updated daily)User
Question... trezz24
Influence trezz24
Inconclusive and skewed ben_71
Iraq in Fragments: political message? wagnerfrederic
Will anything be done with the missing Chapter Four of this film? ProducerGrl2000
Brilliant documentary! jamella
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