Not Without My Daughter (1991)

Great Film overall

Far from Perfect, Far from Terrible

A brilliant film that helped define a genre

I enjoyed watching this film and would recommend other to give it a try , (as I am) but this movie, although enjoyable to watch due to the better than average acting fails to add anything new to its storyline that is all too familiar to these types of movies.

Adapted from the book of the same name by Betty Mahmoody, the film was directed by Brian Gilbert, screenplay written by David W. Rintels, and filming locations ranged from Ankara, Turkey, Neve Ilan, Israel, and in Atlanta, Georgia. It's a thoroughly well-acted, very absorbing drama, shrewdly evoking the central character's escalating nightmare as she comes to terms with being held hostage by her husband and being totally powerless to do anything about it. What alarms me more than anything is that, despite a number of reviews praising the film, one reviewer stated "Sally Field displays a lot of over-heated anguish". Is that person for real? I think the viewer is sympathetic to her ploy, as she was fooled into visiting Iran, and then was forced to conform to their culture, which is very primitive when it comes to women. Field has many scenes where she is able to show off her acting abilities and her performance never once shrinks, delivering a powerful turn, as does Alfred Molina in the less-sympathetic role. There is a beautiful performance from a very young and gifted Sheila Rosenthal as their young daughter, Mahtob, and displays acting abilities that are incredible for her age. Inevitably, this situation she and her mother find themselves in, affects her the most being just a six-year-old girl. I won't reveal the ending, but I can certainly say it is intense, very edgy, nail-biting stuff, which makes you incredibly nervous, and it's very well-drawn out. Unfortunately, the film ended up being largely criticised by Iranians, who saw it as another attempt by America to shame their culture. Many critics stated it had a hidden agenda. This is simply not true. The real-life Betty Mahmoody acted as a consultant on the film, to ensure accuracy, and it is made more than clear that she saw Islam as having great beauty in it; it was just the excessively oppressive system to women she could not adapt to. Some accused this of showing all Muslims as monsters. Now, I can see why this film could be used as racist propaganda, but, I also didn't see it this way. It was telling a true story, no more, no less. For instance, without giving too much away, it is actually a group of Muslims that aid Betty in her daring escape plan; the same penalty would be handed out to these Muslims if they were caught helping her - death! Some of the Muslims in the film are shown to be warm and very gracious, so I don't believe there was any hidden agenda here. If there WAS then all I can say is wherever the eyes of the filmmakers may have been, the heart of its stars were definitely in the right place. I also find it hard to believe that despite the harrowing tone of the film, those same critics that were mocking it stated that it is no more than an over-sensationlised, Lifetime-type TV movie; grossly inaccurate. This is far from some glossy, shallow melodrama. Yet, those with a rather closed-mind may view this as the be-all and end-all to life in Iran, which I don't believe it sets out to do. The incidental music accompanying many of the scenes was also criticised by some, though I personally felt it helped create the intended atmosphere and tone, as well as enhance the edge of the story.Ian Phillips

When Betty(Field, determined) go with Moody(Molina, transforming from loving to cruel) and their daughter Mahtob(Rosenthal, cute, devoted to her mother) back to his home country of Iran for a two week vacation, they find it very different from last time he was there. Since the revolution, the laws are more strict. And when the fortnight is up, he tells them that they will be staying. It's a dangerous place to be, women have few rights, and a divorce would just mean he gets custody. But she knows she has to get out, and her girl is coming with her. One way or another.I don't know enough about the period to say how realistic this is, but it comes across as credible. We see some of the local customs, and the choice to keep it entirely from their perspective was smart - as long as they are in that country, so are we. The acting is good for all concerned, including children. Some of the dialog and cinematography are odd, taking you out of the experience, when they easily could have been better. Other than that, this is fairly well-produced. This is 108 minutes without the credits, or 111 with.There is some solid tension, albeit these sequences tend to be over too quickly, and removed from any greater context. The pacing is decent at best. This stops and stalls, and it's one of the "based on a true story" pictures that focuses so much on being accurate, it forgets that it's also, ultimately a piece of fiction(not a documentary), and as such, has to entertain. There are plot strands that end up going nowhere, and this is easily 20 minutes too long. By the end, you've simply stopped caring.There is some violent and disturbing content. I recommend this to those who badly want a film about these events. 6/10

Just another one of the biggest lies of History In the the name of the same God that the very producers of such movies in holly wood try to make him forgotten It is really easy to sit back & accept whatever lies they feed us in movies & not even giving the people of the nations being slandered by holly wood producers,the benefit of the doubt.This is not the first nor the last time that we see such movies drag not one,not 10 but millions of ppl's names through the mud just by making a movie most of which are made in the name of Comedies,the others dramas "based on truth".America's policy towards Iran & the middle east is obvious & its media tries to leave the same impression in public minds by showing the middle eastern ppl as a Neanderthal generation,violent with no culture or civilization. if they wanna let ppl know the truth why don't they tell them about the plans made by them & Betty -who is a member of CIA -several years before marrying Dr.Mahmud?Alice Sharif ,one of Betty's friends that also married an Iranian & now lives a happy ,rich life in Iran says"She betrayed all of us because we had a great life in Iran & were financially Supported by our educated husbands".The lies shown in this movie simply didn't include the cruelty of such a she-beast who prevented a compassionate father from seeing his only daughter ;a great unrecoverable sorrow that eventually lead to his death! Before judgment hear both sides of the argument,if you believe in Justice

This movie may not win in terms of geographical accuracy or cinematography. However, the woman depicted in the movie is based on the real Betty and she is the writer of the screenplay.I know many things about many different countries, which seems to be odd for an American. I have read many books about Islam, and ultimately I think that it is most often a religion associated with violence, especially against women. I understand that there are many modern, peaceful people who practice Islam, and I am of the opinion that they have adapted an ancient, oppressive creed to their modern progressive values in order to reclaim it for peace.To anyone who thinks the husband is irrational, or unrealistic, understand that this movie is based on ACTUAL events, not fiction. I know as a woman, that there is no way I could ever safely travel through Iran, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Afghanistan, and many other places regardless of it being 2010. I feel it is sick and sad that these women are covered because the men in those places have not learned to control themselves.I interact with many international students within my TESL program, and the only people who prefer to not speak with me or acknowledge my statements in a classroom have been Muslim men. Culture is one thing, and trying to kill Ayaan Hirsi Ali, a dutch parliament member originally from Somalia, for making a film about exactly which parts of the Qur'an oppress women is another. Sadly, Islamic extremists did manage to kill her director, Theo Van Gogh, while he was bicycling in Amsterdam (not an Islamic country). I am proud of France for standing up for equality and banning womens' head scarfs in Governmental buildings because they represent the inequality of men and women which goes against their republic. I just wish I could convince my public college to stop building prayer rooms and foot washing facilities for Muslim students using student fees. No religion should be getting state money for any educational facilities, and yet in Minnesota there is a charter school next to a mosque that is suing the state for not handing over funds because they violate state law regarding religion in schools (google Muslim school in MN gets state funding). They, of course, are not the only religion trying to get into schools. Many Christians would like to see their religion in schools again as well. I have been following stories of Islamic oppression of women for many years with my mother. While I understand that there are MANY, NON-VIOLENT, MODERN Muslim people, there are still many cases of abuse against women and children by Islamic men across the world. There have also been many cases of Islamic extremists destroying artistic works, literatures, and other cultural artifacts that are not of their culture. This is fundamentally wrong in my opinion, as it was for death metal groups to burn down 13th century Christian churches in Sweden, (google Swedish church fire). These types of art and structures hold value to ALL MANKIND not just the people that made them. This is human history being destroyed!I myself am of the opinion that MOST major organized religions oppress women, especially Catholicism, Lutheranism and various sects of Christianity in America. Buddhism didn't allow women to practice for a long time. I do believe that Islam may be the most oppressive religion to women overall.In light of more recent works like Persepolis, this movie is not unrealistic, despite being tacky and poorly filmed. In Persepolis, the parents are very liberal and modern. The writer of those graphic novels lives in France despite having very liberal parents, and that says everything.