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Not Without My Daughter

Not Without My Daughter

List Price: $14.95
Your Price: $13.46
Product Info Reviews

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Rating: 1 stars
Summary: bad
Review: bad movie

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: How Awful!
Review: OKay, well to start out with, this movie is Crap!! There was a real woman, and she wrote a book....but the movie is so distorted! Iran is not like that! Sure, many of their Morals are very wrong, but in no way are they like they are in this movie! My step dad is Persain, and i have been to Iran twice, and been around Persains my whole life.....ANd this movie is sooo far from the truth! What kills me even more is that my history teacher made us watch this movie to get a better understanding of the conditions in Iran. What a poor choice on her behalf.

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: It's Ok But Questionable
Review: I have not been to Iran myself. But I have lived in a Muslim country myself(Pakistan)for somtime.

Now to the movie. I felt really sorry for Betty. She had been in too much stress in those days so in my opinion the film is exaccterated (sp????) to quite some point. But it was just her in laws that was messy in the story. Not the whole Iranians in general.

Plot: American woman follows Iranian born husband to Iran expecting a 2 week stay. To her horror he decides to stay. He says she can go but her daughter must stay behind ( according to the "culture" shown in the movie)

Neverless a good show.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Considering marriage to a middle eastern man???
Review: Better watch this movie first!!! This movie could easily be classified as "horror" instead of just "drama"! And I can't believe it's a true story! How horrible! This movie could almost make you a feminist! GOD BLESS THE USA

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: This movie made a patriot out of me.
Review: Sally Field gives one of her greatest performances in this film, as does Alfred Molina. The heartbreaking part is that it was a true story, and there are many other American women and children trapped in Iran at this very moment. Watching this movie makes you wonder how Betty Mahmoody was able to retain her sanity long enough to finish her fight to get herself and her daughter back home. If nothing else, this movie taught me to never take my American citizenship for granted. My heart goes out to the others trapped in the middle east.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: A mother's love for her child and an escape to freedom....
Review: "Not Without My Daughter" is a riveting story based on the life of Betty Mahmoody. Certain events and characters were fictionalized for the purpose of dramatic clarity. With that in mind, you will be able to tell when something is being overplayed for effect. For the true story, read the book by Betty Mahmoody who is now a successful writer and lecturer dedicated to helping women who find themselves in a situation similar to what she found herself in when she was married and living in Iran.

While many see this movie as an attack on the Islamic faith, it really is more of a suspense story, which also deals with the undercurrent issues of "trust" and "loyalty." This story also exposes the larger issues of "freedom" and "human rights."

We are introduced to Betty Mahmoody (Sally Field) who is married to an Iranian man and has a daughter named Mahtob. Their story begins in Alpena, Michigan in 1984 and concludes in February 9th, 1986. For Betty, this is a period in her life when she feels out of control and is very unhappy with her living arrangements. Instead of embracing her husband's choice to stay in his homeland because he has lost his job in an American hospital, she decides to end the marriage and return to America.

In order to not get arrested, Betty has to wear chador when in public. She struggles to fit in with this culture which seems so opposed to what she is accustomed to. When her husband (a doctor played by Alfred Molina) promised her that their trip to Iran would only be a vacation, she believed him. She had great apprehension, yet went with him anyway. She is then completely betrayed when he decides to stay.

This movie is a journey into the life experiences of a woman who does not want to be living in Iran and who does not love her husband enough to want to be with him no matter where he decides to live. When her husband starts to physically abuse her, we take her side and want her to seek help. Fearing for her life, she seeks help to escape.

As a stranger in a foreign land with no money or friends, she has to compromise and for a while she tries to make her marriage work. The cultural differences seem to consume her and she doesn't seem to be able to create the harmonious family life she desires.

In order to understand this movie in more detail, I went to a site called: nmsismail.faithweb.com/quaran.htm. You can read Surah 3:14; 24:31; and 4:34. At a site dedicated to women married to Islamic men, I also found out that children have to be raised according to their Muslim father's religion: Islam. If he divorces the wife, he gets custody of the children and the wife would not be able to see her children again. While this story of a woman being held against her will is unthinkable to American women, there are also many women in America who are in abusive marriages. The atrocities portrayed in this movie could happen in any culture. This is one woman's story and if you view it that way, no one will be offended. This movie is filled with suspense and that is what I enjoyed most about the movie. This is a drama with heart-rending tension! The acting is also very good and this movie kept my full attention.

Rating: 2 stars
Summary: Not worth your time
Review: I gave this movie two stars, only because Sally Field did a good job with the script she was given. The aim of this movie seems to see how much they can rip apart Iranian culture. What they don't mention is that this story takes place during the Iraq-Iran war, and naturally, things are going to be a little more tense and abnormal. There is a scene of a night bombing, but the fact that the nation is at war is never really discussed. Iran itself was also in a flux, with its new government only a few years old, so things also really hadn't settled down yet. But the producers never see the need to tell us anything at all about Iran.

It is also shocking that Betty married this Iranian man, without learning anything at all about his culture, his religion or even the laws of his country. And it would seem that their marital problems went deeper than just cultural differences--if they had been blissfully happy together, surely he would have discussed the matter over with her--why he wanted to stay in Iran, and so on, instead of just demanding it.

Yes, there was quite a bit missing from this movie, but then, it was made in Israel so that may be the reason it is so utterly bigoted against Iran, and leaves out all the important details which may have better explained the situation--both in Iran and within the couple's marriage.

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: Irritating movie...
Review: I have no idea about how things are like in Iran, so I cant judge the accuracy of the movie here. I dont really consider myself by any means to be religious, but this movie still managed to upset me through its picking on Arabs and Muslims and portraying them as some animals. I am definitely a firm believer in artistic expression, but this movie only serves to stereotype a certain group of people and widens the gap that had (in my opinion) become impossible to bridge.
I just hope people dont bash each other for cultural/religious/opinion differences that way. Get a life! Listen to some John Lennon for Love's sake!

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: False View of Iran
Review: I have so many Iranian friends who are very nice and friendly. I was shocked after watching this insulting movie. I've also been in Iran for several months. The environment and the people are totally different from what this movie shows. Actually I know that this movie was made based on a book which was written by a mad woman who had wrong illusions about her husband and Iran. Instead of the writer and the director of the movie, I apologize all honorable Iranian who may be insulted by this stupid movie.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: I THOUGHT IT WAS MOVING - I LOVED IT
Review: I HAVE WATCHED THIS MOVIE MORE THAN 5 TIMES AND NOW I AM ABOUT TO OWN IT. I FOUND THE STORY LINE REALLY TENSE -I COULD ONLY IMAGINE THE EMOTIONAL TURMOIL MS MAHMOODY WAS EXPERIENCING. I HAVE AN IRANIAN FRIEND WHO ASSURED ME - THIS IS TRUE TO LIFE MAINLY DUE TO ISLAMIC BELIEFS. HOWEVER I COULD NOT FATHON WHAT MUST GO THROUGH A MOTHERS MIND WHEN A SITUATION LIKE THIS PRESENTS ITSELF - AND YOU HAVE NO WAY OF RESOLVING IT - ESPECIALLY WHEN YOU ARE IN A STRANGE COUNTRY WITH NO PASSPORT, NO EMBASSY AND NO SUPPORT. I THOUGHT IT WAS A TENSE AND EMOTIONAL MOVIE - I THOROUGHLY LOVED IT. SALLY FIELDS IS THE BEST!


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