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November 2, 2004
The skewed Voices of Iraq
Following the trend of this year's politically oriented documentaries, Voices of Iraq explores the controversial issue of whether or not President Bush's invasion was successful in liberating and rebuilding Iraq. Directed and filmed by more than 2,000 Iraqi citizens supplied with 150 DV cameras, the footage documents events from the uprising in Fallujah to preparing for the January election in September 2004.
The film has an even balance between shots of the various Iraqi cities and interviews conducted by those with the cameras. The first several interviews conducted by Iraqis might fool the audience into thinking Voices of Iraq really is an unbiased and balanced documentary as Iraqis both curse and praise American troops. Some of the anti-American responses are gruesome, as one woman shows her small child's scars from being shot in the arm and stomach by an American soldier. Others include Iraqis just cursing America. However, soon after the beginning of the film, the shots that convey a negative reaction to American occupation disappear, and the interviewers all just happen to ask the same question: ''Is Iraq better now than under Saddam?''
A great deal of the documentary is devoted to Iraqis expressing their gratitude for being liberated from Saddam. The producers also include several sorts of smiling children yelling phrases such as ''Iraq very good'' and police officers repeating ''Bush good! Bush good!''
Executive producer Eric Manes and co-producers Martin Kunert and Archie Drury go about proving that the U.S. public is wrong to think that Iraqi citizens disapprove of the occupation. They show headlines from major publications and shots convening a completely different situation in the background, insinuating that The New York Times, The Los Angeles Times, The Washington Post and the Associated Press not only augmented the truth but lied about the situation in Iraq.
The producers also provide insight into the Saddam regime by including segments from his army’s recruiting videos, which show men and women having their arms removed, their tongues cut out and their heads chopped off. The short videos are supplemented by Iraqis telling their personal stories. One woman even recounts conditioning herself to be tortured by burning her hands with cigarettes while Saddam was in power.
Because the Iraqi citizens were not trained in using the cameras, the cinematography was somewhat unprofessional. The unstable camera shots do add to the urgent nature of the documentary, but the cameras, passed around throughout Iraq, never stay on a subject long enough to give real insight into the Iraqis’ lives.
Despite the occasional tangents of somewhat anti-American commentary, Voices of Iraq is simply a conservative editorial in disguise. The more than 400 hours of raw footage shot by the people of Iraq unfortunately was not edited down to 79 minutes by the people of Iraq. Throughout the film, the producers simply forgo direct commentary in favor of a more subtle approach, including conveniently pro-Bush/America material.
Voices of Iraq (79 minutes) is not rated but does contain blood, violence and strong emotional material and is playing exclusively at the E Street Landmark Cinema.
The film has an even balance between shots of the various Iraqi cities and interviews conducted by those with the cameras. The first several interviews conducted by Iraqis might fool the audience into thinking Voices of Iraq really is an unbiased and balanced documentary as Iraqis both curse and praise American troops. Some of the anti-American responses are gruesome, as one woman shows her small child's scars from being shot in the arm and stomach by an American soldier. Others include Iraqis just cursing America. However, soon after the beginning of the film, the shots that convey a negative reaction to American occupation disappear, and the interviewers all just happen to ask the same question: ''Is Iraq better now than under Saddam?''
A great deal of the documentary is devoted to Iraqis expressing their gratitude for being liberated from Saddam. The producers also include several sorts of smiling children yelling phrases such as ''Iraq very good'' and police officers repeating ''Bush good! Bush good!''
Executive producer Eric Manes and co-producers Martin Kunert and Archie Drury go about proving that the U.S. public is wrong to think that Iraqi citizens disapprove of the occupation. They show headlines from major publications and shots convening a completely different situation in the background, insinuating that The New York Times, The Los Angeles Times, The Washington Post and the Associated Press not only augmented the truth but lied about the situation in Iraq.
The producers also provide insight into the Saddam regime by including segments from his army’s recruiting videos, which show men and women having their arms removed, their tongues cut out and their heads chopped off. The short videos are supplemented by Iraqis telling their personal stories. One woman even recounts conditioning herself to be tortured by burning her hands with cigarettes while Saddam was in power.
Because the Iraqi citizens were not trained in using the cameras, the cinematography was somewhat unprofessional. The unstable camera shots do add to the urgent nature of the documentary, but the cameras, passed around throughout Iraq, never stay on a subject long enough to give real insight into the Iraqis’ lives.
Despite the occasional tangents of somewhat anti-American commentary, Voices of Iraq is simply a conservative editorial in disguise. The more than 400 hours of raw footage shot by the people of Iraq unfortunately was not edited down to 79 minutes by the people of Iraq. Throughout the film, the producers simply forgo direct commentary in favor of a more subtle approach, including conveniently pro-Bush/America material.
Voices of Iraq (79 minutes) is not rated but does contain blood, violence and strong emotional material and is playing exclusively at the E Street Landmark Cinema.
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I did feel closer to the people and believed that what was being said was part of what the Iraqi people had to say which is the power of the film. It did pull me in, partially because of my expectations, but within 20 minutes, my friend and I were both starting to see what we really felt in the end - that this is a well crafted propganda film. It's power is in the amount of anti-American sentiment included, which was just enough to pull me in at first and think this would be a somewhat balanced expression.
In the film, one Iraqi man declares what an incredibly diverse nation Iraq is, which was ironic in how blaringly undiverse the message was being shown. Another man states three or four things that are definitely better now, like passports that are free and available to citizens, but his positive statements are clearly part of a larger speech condemning the sitution the American invasion has brought about but all but the that is cut off and only the statements that support the porducer's clear agenda remain.
The other powerful part of this film is that the fact that Saddam, his sons and their regime were horrible. And I would say nobody who did not support Bush's war was arguing for Saddam either. This film is smart in its subtlties. I was disturbed by the graphic scenes on Uday's home movies included here but ultimately as disturbed by the precision and deception behind this propoganda
Still, I will watch this documentary with the knowledge of your comments and understanding the point of view from which the producers are coming from. If only I could say the same thing about the New York Times, The Los Angeles Times, The Washington Post and the Associated Press.
Dan
People really said these things, (if their mouths are on camera as the speak and uninterrupted by b-roll, they really said it) just like the heartbroken mother in Fahrenheit 911. Whatever may not be included in Voices of Iraq, the pain and joys of the Iraqis in the film are genuine, and thus, valuable.
I'm not saying that insurgents are supported. they are supported by a very very small minority. I'm simply suggesting that if a litte less than 1/2 of iraqis support the u.s. occupation, then why does almost all of the documentary show this minority?