Customer Reviews

The Dreams of Sparrows

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This documentary really opened my eyes. It is not made up like a Michael Moore shock dock filled with distorted truths. This is the real deal. It is not an anti or even pro-American piece. It simply shows people thoughts on America and the war from an Iraqi perspective. In an honest style, this movie portray both the good and the bad. Everyone should see it.

I bought this DVD to see what the situation in Iraq is from the viewpoint of Iraqi Independent filmmakers. This hard hitting and emotional work is one of the best films I have ever seen. It is truly a great artistic work straight from the heart and soul of director Hayder Mousa Daffar and his assistants. The camera work is excellent, especially considering the conditions under which it was shot. It presents the true suffering of the Iraqi people as their country and world disintegrates around them. Its starts with a scene that depicts the birth of a child and then has a series of many interviews with Iraqis from all walks of life from Taxi drivers to nuthouse inmates to ex-soldiers and the eye opening comments of children and the cries and pleas of desperate women. Acute problems with gasoline and electric shortages and how these people struggle from day to day is graphically depicted and very sad. The fate of the Palestinians is unbelievable.

It is not by any means an anti-American diatribe but really leaves the viewer quite stunned. It is one of the most effective examples of the power of cinema ever created. It is also one of the very best documentaries I have ever seen and it moved me to tears and heartbreak. It is dedicated to the memory of Sa'ad Fakher, a cheerful soul and a musician who was helping with the video. Sa'ad was killed while the documentary was being made. At the very end a gaunt and hollow eyed Hayder speaks into a mirror in summation. This moment captures a feeling of despair that I could barely watch or confront in my own conscience. I really am having difficulty describing it. It is a great work of art and a triumph of Independent film. It is in Arabic and subtitled. All conventional US networks refused to air it. Watch this and watch it again. You will never forget it. If you want a sanitized little piece that makes you feel good about war, look elsewhere.

A group of Iraqi filmmakers directed by Hayder Mousa Daffar document life in Iraq since the fall of Saddam and the entrenchment of the American occupation. I could not detect the slightest ideological slant in this film, the gist of which is captured in the words of one person who said that he had one sentence for Americans: "Baghdad is hell, really is hell." Based upon this film, you can be sure of two truths, that Iraqis hated Saddam and are glad he is gone, and that they detest the American occupation and will be glad when we are gone. After all, observes one man, "why would America be here if they did not expect to benefit?" International diplomacy is not rooted in altruism. In a tragic metaphor of the situation in Iraq now, associate producer Sa'ad Fakher was killed when he fled Iraqis who shot at his car, only to be massacred in a hail of bullets after he turned around and drove straight into an American ambush. His friends counted 122 bullet holes in his car. In Arabic with English subtitles.

When I bought and watched this film, I was blown away by the original and raw nature of its content. What one reviewer writes in his thinly veiled marketing for a "competing" film is actually what I found to be great about this movie. It is made by a small independant group, and is, to its credit, not at all overproduced or hollywoodified... After all, shouldn't an honest documentary not be much more than a filmmaker carrying around his camera to show you what he sees? This is an excellent work.