I agree completely with the review I read at DVDMOVIECENTRAL.
Voices of Iraq is one of the most moving and inspiring documentaries I've ever had the pleasure to watch. It's like witnessing the birth of an unimaginable miracle. If, as it has been said, the basic yearning of all human beings is to be free, then this is a film that speaks directly to that most sacred part of all of us.
It was a simple project instigated by a group called Voices of Freedom, who decided to distribute 150 digital video cameras to the people of Iraq in April of 2004, telling them to film anything they wanted to themselves, their friends, their families giving them full license to speak their minds and talk about whatever they felt like addressing. Then pass the cameras along so that others could do the same. In September, the cameras were collected, and the amassed footage was turned into this documentary a film in which the Iraqis spoke with their own voice, with no one looking over their shoulders.
The six month period encompassed a lot of landmarks in the war it began with the first Fallujah insurgency. Early on in the film, many Iraqis were disheartened. They were not sure if their futures had a chance with all the bombings and disruptive terrorist attacks. Though they were glad to be rid of Saddam Hussein, some wondered aloud if they would have been better off with him remaining in power.
But despite the hardships, many begin to see the light at the end of the tunnel. Setbacks are amusingly chronicled by the American media as worse than they are (we frequently see newspaper headlines on dates where the video footage is showing quite a different picture). How did the Iraqis really react, for example, to Abu-Grahib? At least one was impressed that America would apologize for it. Many had been in that prison when it was Saddam's torture chamber, and therefore don't see why such a fuss was being made over the photos that had the anti-war crowd in our country so up in arms.
On the day sovereignty was handed over, many media outlets tried to portray it as a symbolic but meaningless transfer of power. But in the eyes of the Iraqis, it was a new birth. People who used to work for slave wages were suddenly getting real money. Schools were being opened with a new sense of freedom. News agencies were celebrating that for the first time, they didn't have to censor themselves. Open discussions were being held about the emergence of the role of women in Iraqi society. Okay, some men were still a little hesitant about that, but the women were proud and fearless one gleefully announces that if men won't give them their rights, they'll simply TAKE them. Another young woman is asked about the future of women's roles in her country. She pauses, laughs, and says, "I can't believe we're talking about this in IRAQ!" The Iraqi stock market began to emerge as a true economic force. Email addresses, which used to cost a year and a half's worth of an average salary, were becoming common as Iraqi citizens took to the internet. Passports used to cost a fortune and were hard to come by now they are free and available to all. Some older citizens are shown beside themselves with joy that for the first time, they could travel.
We watch the nation look on as their national soccer team played in the Olympics for the first time in 16 years they had been banned from participation since 1988 because of Uday Hussein's use of torture against players who lost matches. Now, playing for love of country instead of fear, they took to the world stage, and despite such a lengthy absence from the event, managed an impressive fourth place showing overall.
The music of the film is provided by an Iraqi group called Euphrates, whom we see as finally being able to record the kind of music they've always wanted to, without government restrictions. We see Christians and Muslims side by side, respecting one another and working together for the future of their nation. We see kids dreaming of growing up to be doctors and lawyers and such, while their parents look on and smile and realize the new generation will have the kinds of opportunities that theirs never had.
It's too bad that while vile propaganda films like Fahrenheit 9/11 get shoved down out throats for the better part of a year, a modest, unstaged and non-partisan film like Voices of Iraq has to struggle for distribution. It has only been shown in a few cities. This DVD was produced as a way of getting it seen, but it's not available in most stores thankfully, Netflix has chosen to add it to their library so renters can get a look at what can only be described as a documentary of the purest kind no scripts, no directions, just real people baring their real souls. I can only hope in the wake of Michael Moore that people will take the time to remember what a real documentary can be like.
Voices of Iraq is one of the most moving and inspiring documentaries I've ever had the pleasure to watch. It's like witnessing the birth of an unimaginable miracle. If, as it has been said, the basic yearning of all human beings is to be free, then this is a film that speaks directly to that most sacred part of all of us.
It was a simple project instigated by a group called Voices of Freedom, who decided to distribute 150 digital video cameras to the people of Iraq in April of 2004, telling them to film anything they wanted to themselves, their friends, their families giving them full license to speak their minds and talk about whatever they felt like addressing. Then pass the cameras along so that others could do the same. In September, the cameras were collected, and the amassed footage was turned into this documentary a film in which the Iraqis spoke with their own voice, with no one looking over their shoulders.
The six month period encompassed a lot of landmarks in the war it began with the first Fallujah insurgency. Early on in the film, many Iraqis were disheartened. They were not sure if their futures had a chance with all the bombings and disruptive terrorist attacks. Though they were glad to be rid of Saddam Hussein, some wondered aloud if they would have been better off with him remaining in power.
But despite the hardships, many begin to see the light at the end of the tunnel. Setbacks are amusingly chronicled by the American media as worse than they are (we frequently see newspaper headlines on dates where the video footage is showing quite a different picture). How did the Iraqis really react, for example, to Abu-Grahib? At least one was impressed that America would apologize for it. Many had been in that prison when it was Saddam's torture chamber, and therefore don't see why such a fuss was being made over the photos that had the anti-war crowd in our country so up in arms.
On the day sovereignty was handed over, many media outlets tried to portray it as a symbolic but meaningless transfer of power. But in the eyes of the Iraqis, it was a new birth. People who used to work for slave wages were suddenly getting real money. Schools were being opened with a new sense of freedom. News agencies were celebrating that for the first time, they didn't have to censor themselves. Open discussions were being held about the emergence of the role of women in Iraqi society. Okay, some men were still a little hesitant about that, but the women were proud and fearless one gleefully announces that if men won't give them their rights, they'll simply TAKE them. Another young woman is asked about the future of women's roles in her country. She pauses, laughs, and says, "I can't believe we're talking about this in IRAQ!" The Iraqi stock market began to emerge as a true economic force. Email addresses, which used to cost a year and a half's worth of an average salary, were becoming common as Iraqi citizens took to the internet. Passports used to cost a fortune and were hard to come by now they are free and available to all. Some older citizens are shown beside themselves with joy that for the first time, they could travel.
We watch the nation look on as their national soccer team played in the Olympics for the first time in 16 years they had been banned from participation since 1988 because of Uday Hussein's use of torture against players who lost matches. Now, playing for love of country instead of fear, they took to the world stage, and despite such a lengthy absence from the event, managed an impressive fourth place showing overall.
The music of the film is provided by an Iraqi group called Euphrates, whom we see as finally being able to record the kind of music they've always wanted to, without government restrictions. We see Christians and Muslims side by side, respecting one another and working together for the future of their nation. We see kids dreaming of growing up to be doctors and lawyers and such, while their parents look on and smile and realize the new generation will have the kinds of opportunities that theirs never had.
It's too bad that while vile propaganda films like Fahrenheit 9/11 get shoved down out throats for the better part of a year, a modest, unstaged and non-partisan film like Voices of Iraq has to struggle for distribution. It has only been shown in a few cities. This DVD was produced as a way of getting it seen, but it's not available in most stores thankfully, Netflix has chosen to add it to their library so renters can get a look at what can only be described as a documentary of the purest kind no scripts, no directions, just real people baring their real souls. I can only hope in the wake of Michael Moore that people will take the time to remember what a real documentary can be like.