This Academy Award nominated feature film is an unforgettable journey into the heart of war-ravaged Iraq.

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Product Description

Working alone in Iraq over eight months, American filmmaker Laura Poitras follows Iraqi physician Dr. Riyadh—father of six and Sunni political candidate -- for an unforgettable journey into the heart of war-ravaged Iraq in the months leading up to the January 2005 elections. An outspoken critic of the occupation, Dr. Riyadh is equally passionate about building democracy in Iraq. Yet all around him, he sees only chaos, as his waiting room fills each day with patients suffering the physical and mental effects of ever-increasing violence. Dramatically interwoven into his personal journey is the landscape of U.S. military occupation, Australian private security contractors, and the U.N. officials who orchestrated the elections. Luminously photographed and emotionally complex, MY COUNTRY, MY COUNTRY captures the downward spiral of one man caught in the tragic contradictions of the U.S. occupation of Iraq and its project to spread democracy in the Middle East.

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Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #57452 in DVD
• Released on: 2007-03-20
• Rating: NR (Not Rated)
• Aspect ratio: 1.85:1
• Formats: Color, DVD, NTSC, Subtitled, Widescreen
• Original language: Arabic, English, Kurdish
• Subtitled in: English
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 90 minutes

Amazon.com
Produced for PBS series POV, this Oscar-nominated documentary takes an up-close-and-personal look at the occupation of Iraq. While War Tapes explores the situation from the American standpoint, My Country, My Country presents the other side of the equation. And while fellow nominee James Longley (Iraq in Fragments) combines Sunni, Shi'a, and Kurdish perspectives, Laura Poitras (Flag Wars) sets her sights on one Sunni, Baghdad-based Dr. Riyadh. She also takes detours to check in with the US military, UN personnel, and Australian security contractors supervising the 2005 elections, either directly or indirectly (as one notes about the occupation, "It's not all bad, you can have some fun"). Dr. Riyadh, a physician and city council member, runs for a seat on the National Assembly in order to help rebuild his country. Poitras began shooting in 2004 and spent eight months with her protagonist, his wife, and their children. She captures a time of doubt and fear, as shells are constantly exploding in the background. Just as the Iraqi people are wary of the outsiders trying to restore democracy, there is only so much insiders, like Dr. Riyadh, can do. Elegantly shot by the director and set to a mournful score by Kadhum Al Sahir, My Country, My Country may be pessimistic about the prospects for present-day Iraq, but Poitras gives one decent man a voice. For that it remains an invaluable document of its time and place. --Kathleen C. Fennessy