Not Without My Daughter | | Cast : | Sally Field, Alfred Molina | | Director : | Brian Gilbert | | Studio : | Mgm/Ua Studios | | Format : | Color, Closed-captioned, Widescreen | | Released Date : | January 11, 1991 | | DVD Released Date : | October 02, 2001 | | Language : | Spanish (Dubbed), French (Subtitled), Spanish (Subtitled), English (Original Language), French (Original Language) | | Audience Rating : | PG-13 (Parental Guidance Suggested) | | | BUY THIS DVD FROM AMAZON |
Customer Reviews
| Rating |  | | Date | July 09, 2005 | | Summary | Are We Really That Different: Seeing Iranian Woman From a New Point of View | Content
 | I saw Not Without My Daughter long ago and at the time a remember feeling very compassionate with Betty Mahmood, seeing her as a victim of a culture, entirely alien to her. Betty is forced to fight with all means possible to escape Iran and keep her young daughter with her after she discovers that her husband, an Americanized Iranian, has decided to stay in Iran during their visit and adopt and impose on her the local culture and way of life. Although I found the film very interesting and provocative, I always wondered about the accuracy of the real environment that was portrayed in the film.
Recently I saw an Iranian film, The Day I Became A Woman, which contained an entirely different perspective from Not Without My Daughter. The most obvious difference was that The Day I Became A Woman is an Iranian film, directed by an Iranian female director, Marziyeh Meshkini. It focuses on very realistic and really common events in the life of the Iranian woman. Surprisingly enough, I found that these women had much more in common with the character of Betty Mahmood, than any of the other female characters in Not Without My Daughter. They had the will, the desire, strength and determination, just like Betty. Seeing The Day I Became A Woman really made me aware of the cultural blindness that I have been exposed to by the dominance of the American film.
I was very happy to find out that The Day I Became a Woman is coming out on DVD in US, because this is exactly what we as Americans need to see in order to be able to understand a different culture, which, as this movie shows, is not all that different. There is a web site about this film, thedayibecameawoman.com , which should have the release date, so please a keep an eye on it. It was a real eye-opener for me. |
| Rating | | | Date | July 04, 2005 | | Summary | Use your brain | Content
| 'The Journeyman Weekly' is a documentary film by Alexis Kouros and Kari Tervo, about othes side of this spiteful film,
I am an Iranian, this film was a joke, the truth only remains and then US ask themself why we made such a film, thanks to Betty Mahmoody, before it I didn't know US ppl. but now I think I become familiar (excuse for all good men of US that are many), i surprised how is the system of judegement of US ppl., whether they are very credulous,
1- did you never asked yourself about other side?
2- never asked why you don't see the other side of this film anywhere?!!!
3- east, west, Iranian, Americian and all people are just human with humanistic sence
4- how you let some people humilate your judegment, your intelligence?
5- simply noone can generelize any thing, do you know what are you doing, did you think about stereotype you make for others?, only just this reason don't cause these ppl. shameful?
please stope humilating yourself more, I am respect you then keep it, I am indifferent whether some ppl. want to be fair or not
I dont think such manner about anyone
also Iranian are famous in hospitality and warm, cultured and complicated ppl.
it seems we know these simple ppl. |
| Rating | | | Date | May 24, 2005 | | Summary | a harrowing tale of a clash of cultures | Content
| Based on Betty Mahmoody's account of her 18 months in Iran, this is a gripping, emotional roller coaster of a film that kept me riveted to the screen for all of its 115 minutes.
Though fearful, Betty agreed to go for a two-week visit to Iran with her husband Moody and daughter Mahtob, only to find at the end of the two weeks that her husband was fired from his job in the US, and he has no intention of leaving Iran. Moody's family are primitive village people, very extreme in their views, and Moody, at first to "save face", and then perhaps degenerating into the man he was before being "Americanized", inceasingly controls Betty with force and humiliation, all within the Ayatollah Khomeni's insane and rigorous Islamic state of 1984.
Her struggle to get out of Iran with her daughter is what this film is about (it would have been easy to leave alone), and there are many brave Iranians who risk their lives to help her. The claim that this film is racist is irrational, doesn't take these heroic people into consideration, and is an example of the narrow-minded intolerance shown in this film, a mindset that led to 9/11.
Though made in 1990, this is a very timely film to watch, and relates to the problem of abuse in every culture. I don't understand why it has slipped under the radar screen and is not more widely known. The acting is excellent by the entire cast, and the direction by Brian Gilbert is tight and feels like a top-notch thriller at times, with Jerry Goldsmith's terrific score and Peter Hannan's wonderful cinematography, shot on location in Israel, which is fantastic in the last portion of the film.
Sally Field and Alfred Molina give the performance of their lives, in what is much more than a "woman's film"; this is a film about humanity and extraordinary courage, and should have a much wider audience than it has had.
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| Rating | | | Date | April 09, 2005 | | Summary | Uber Americana | Content
| "Not Without My Daughter" is the story of an all-American house wife who acquiesces to her Iranian-American husband's wish to visit Iran. Betty is reluctant to follow her husband "Moody" to his home country because she perceives it to be a dangerous place. He assures her very lovingly that it will be safe and he will take care of her. But when they get there, the culture clash is obvious: Betty is a brash outspoken woman compared to Iranian women, and Moody's personality completely changes. They fall into the roles of the dominant husband and subservient wife.
The change in Moody's personality is ridiculously portrayed. He goes from being a sweet, loving father and husband to a maniacal wife-beater who demands that his wife submit to his will. The change occurs almost overnight. After a brief visit, Moody dictates that the family will stay in Iran and establish a life there, and hardly ever lets Betty out of his sight. He refuses to listen to her pleas to return to her home country. Only when Betty appears to acquiesce to his plan does he give her minimal freedom.
I understand that the movie is based on a true story, and that the story on which the movie is based is probably very compelling. However, the movie totally turned me off to the story. It did not believably portray the evolution of Moody's character. The black-and-white contrast between Moody's personality in America, and his personality in Iran cast Arabs in a horrible light and fed into American stereotypes about foreigners as "other". The movie did draw attention to the plight of women in Arab countries, but other movies such as "Osama" have accomplished the same thing in a much more realistic way. More than portraying the plight of women, "Not Without My Daughter" is an anti-Arab movie. Nothing reinforces the anti-Arab, pro-America message more blatantly than the last scene of the movie, when Betty finally escapes her husband. The movie closes with her glimpsing the American flag. The music is valiant. The camera speed slows. America, the movie indicates, is the only place of true freedom. I don't buy it.
Betty was also totally disrespectful of Iranian culture when she was there. She did not make any attempt to fit in with the other women, even when she thought that she was just there for a short vacation. She wore bright flowery dresses and no head dress. She was brashly, embarrassingly American, and the movie portrayed this as though she was the normal one and the cultural expectations in Iran were ridiculous. The movie paid no respect whatsoever to the culture. Iranians were portrayed as pure bad, and American culture as pure good. It was not a credible vision of the world.
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| Rating | | | Date | March 08, 2005 | | Summary | A great book and very good movie | Content
| I found this heart wrenching book and movie to be very good. Ms. Mahmoody's tale of her loving husband's decent into brutality and religious fanaticism is horrific, but the love, determination, and devotion to her only child lift this story high. Watching this movie and then reading the book did NOT make me think that all Iranians or Muslims are barbaric. There are good and bad in ALL peoples. I applaud Ms. Mahmoody for her courage and her willingness to share her story and try to help others. |
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