| | | A Man. An Occupation. An Election.
Features: DVD, Aspect Ratio 1.85:1, English, Subtitled
Working alone in Iraq over eight months, director/cinematographer Laura Poitras creates an extraordinarily intimate portrait of Iraqis living under U.S. occupation. Her principal focus is Dr. Riyadh al-Adhadh, an Iraqi medical doctor, father of six and Sunni political candidate. An outspoken critic of the occupation, he is equally passionate about the need to establish democracy in Iraq, arguing that Sunni participation in the January 2005 elections is essential. Yet all around him, Dr. Riyadh sees only chaos, as his waiting room fills each day with patients suffering the physical and mental effects of ever-increasing violence. Dramatically interwoven into the personal journey of Dr. Riyadh is the landscape of the US military occupation, with Australian private security contractors, American journalists and the UN officials who orchestrate the elections. Unfolding like a narrative drama, My Country, My Country follows the agonizing predicament and gradual descent of one man caught in the tragic contradictions of the U.S. occupation of Iraq and its project to spread democracy in the Middle East.
"A keenly constructed and tragic film..." Andrew O'Hehir, Salon.com
"Hard to watch but important to see." Elizabeth Weitzman, New York Daily News
"...intimate and nuanced..." Steve Davis, Austin Chronicle
Editor's Note
This documentary follows a doctor in Iraq who combines his medical duties with his political ambitions. As Dr. Riyadh sees numerous patients who are injured as a result of the violence of the U.S. occupation, he boldly communicates his stance against the American presence in his homeland. Shot during the run-up to the crucial 2005 elections in the Middle Eastern country, Laura Poitras's film is an important document of a turbulent time. MY COUNTRY, MY COUNTRY received an Oscar nomination for Best Documentary Feature.
| Features | Audio: English, Arabic, Kurdish Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound | | Dubbed: Arabic, Kurdish | | Interactive Menus | | Scene Selection | | Subtitles: English |
| Technical Info
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Release Information
| | Studio: Zeitgeist Video |
| Release Date: 3/20/2007 |
| Running Time: 90 minutes |
| Original Release Date: 2006 | | Catalog ID: 1085 | | UPC: 00795975108539 | | Number of Discs: 1 |
Audio & Video
| | Original Language: Kurdish | | Available Audio Tracks: Arabic, English, Kurdish | | Available Subtitles: English | | Video: Color |
| Cast & Crew | Laura Poitras - Cinematographer | | Laura Poitras - Director | | Riyadh al-Adhadh - Featuring |
| Awards |
Nominee (2007) | | | Independent Spirit, Laura Poitras, Best Documentary |
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| | Professional Reviews | Entertainment Weekly
"[This film] centers on the troubled and fractious elections that took place in January 2005....There's a real story between the lines..." 08/18/2006 p.118Box Office
3.5 stars out of 5 -- "[An] incisive documentary....Despite all the outrage and uncertainty, it's heartening to meet this Iraqi and his family." 09/01/2006 p.112 Variety 8 of 10
Gotham-based documaker Laura Poitras ("Flag Wars") comes up with a still-timely, quietly hard-hitting look at the Iraqi situation with "My Country, My Country," focusing on the lead-up to and outcome of the Jan. 30, 2005, Iraq election...What comes over clearly is that the whole idea of a democratic election, which the West sees as logical and fair, is being shoehorned, via foreign military occupation, into a culture built on discussion, compromise and negotiation. Basically, nobody agrees about anything...Lensing by Poitras herself is observational rather than confrontational, and composed rather than fly-on-the-wall. Coolly edited film comes as a neat reminder a year later, when some would like to draw a neat line under the Iraq situation, that the "show" isn't necessarily everything. - Derek Elley
The Village Voice 9 of 10
Now that the Iraq occupation has out-endured the Korean War, and the polls all clock public disapproval of the war at a two-to-one ratio, the time for Laura Poitras's unassailable and whip-smart doc My Country, My Country to make a Hearts and MindsÐstyle crater may have already passed. It's the season of the weasel: Embedded prevarications like The War Tapes and Iraq in Fragments pull in the fest awards this year, and the media are a monsoon of amoral chitchat about exit strategies and oil prices...Poitras, an experienced progressive doc-maker, has made the definitive nonfiction film about the occupation, and as a counterpoint against acres of corporate-spun non-news, it is indispensable. - Michael Atkinson
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