A very good film, insightful about Iraqis

"We're in Baghdad, we are here to interview the only Iraqi heavy metal band; called Acrassicauda. We've been following them for 3 years and erm, we needed to check in on them and see if they are still alive. This is risky, its dangerous, people would say its really fucking stupid for us to be doing this, but, erm you know...Heavy Metal Rules!"

When I read about this documentary it intrigued me. It was described as a film about Iraq and how its youth have become disillusioned with living in a war torn country, and a how group of guys have formed their own heavy metal band to help themselves and their fans cope with the stresses of war.

Its not exactly a focus on the band Acrassicauda, but more of a focus on the band members views on their lives before, during and "after" the war, their daily struggles, and how they cope with the fact that bombs and gun fire can be heard almost all of the time (even whilst filming!). A lot of the film focuses on a brief look around Baghdad, and all the fear and paranoia the city holds, as nobody can be seen collaborating with Americans for fear of being killed by insurgents, and no one can be seen collaborating with insurgents for fear of being killed by Americans! The Iraqi people are stuck between a rock and a hard place, just getting on with it in the hope they aren't the next to blow up.

There are some deeply philosophical views given by the guys they talk to, how they feel about their lives. Living in Baghdad they are hopeless, at zero but at least they have their families. When they are then forced to become refugees in a neighboring country it feels like going beneath zero because there they have no-one but themselves. The fact it is all real, and actually happening makes the story hit home all the more. These guys are not paid actors portraying the lives of people, they are the people and they are sharing their views on what is going on. They don't have "a side" they are not terrorists or rebels or freedom fighters. They are just 4 guys who want to "rock" and spend their days working, listening to Metallica and raising their families.

Watching this I realized how ignorant I am to immigrants and refugees. Firstly I expected Iraqi people to be very much different from English people. I was surprised to see one of the members waring an Iron Maiden T-shirt, another waring a Slipknot one. They spoke reasonably good English which they had learned from films/songs, and they dream of being able to grow long hair and beards like their band idols, something which would get them killed or jailed in the current Iraqi climate!
What struck home most was when they did move out of Iraq, they spoke of how the people in the new country didn't want them there. They understood why too, it was not because the country they fled to was full of horrible people, but because their country couldn't cope with the extra strain of more people. The Iraqi folk do not wish to make life harder for their neighbors but also do not wish to die in war torn Iraq. I found they are not able to gain passports which permit them transport into the EU or America easily, meaning their travel and freedom is severely limited. A young 19 year old fan was asking "Is it a crime to be from Iraq? I have never hurt anybody yet I am not allowed to fly anywhere or be free!" Whilst I understand WHY there are tight regulations, it was difficult not to feel for the innocent bystanders of this war.

I would recommend watching this if you have some spare time and fancy a change. Its not really a plot driven film, they are not aiming for any particular goal from start to finish, its just interviewing and exploring. The band is not the main focus, its the lives outside of the band that they talk about most. There is no "Everyday America kills 100000 Iraqis" its not a political film, its not trying to guilt Westerners into feeling sorry for Iraq. It is purely a film about some guys living in a hopeless place which is void of happiness, and talking about their love for music and their day to day grind.

I feel this was a really well edited and presented piece of work by the Canadians Eddy Moretti and Suroosh Alvi. It was a completely unusual time and place to be doing a documentary about music, I have no idea what inspired them, but it was well received at the 2007 Toronto International Film Festival and its a definite 7/10 for me I think!

Comments

nimimerkillinen

Posted : 1 year, 2 months ago at Sep 29 5:59

I was thinking of reviewing this but not anymore. Nice piece of objective journalism. Nice review.

Added by RB6K 1 year ago on 13 September 2008 08:20