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Reel World: My Country, My Country
By Nicholas Dewart
dewart@mscd.edu

Courtesy of Zeitgeist Films My Country, My Country Not rated 93 minutes Opens Sept. 22

In combining the hard facts of Iraq’s progress toward its elections with a compelling human-interest story, My Country, My Country transcends its documentary format.

Filmmaker Laura Poitras focuses on a Sunni man, Dr. Riyadh, and his family for the eight months leading to Iraq’s election.

On one occasion, Riyadh’s wife and eldest daughter witness American and Iraqi national guards raid the Abu Hanifa Mosque in Baghdad. Although the news on TV states four people were found dead, Riyadh’s wife says five or six were killed.

But it’s Poitras’ keen ability to select gripping dialogue that makes such facts tangible.

“Mom, what kind of life is this,” Riyadh’s daughter asks. “Just stay home (with) no mosque, no prayers.”

Poitras’ approach of showing rather than telling adds depth to the already-explored facts about the U.S. occupation of Iraq.

Many have seen pictures of how prisoners were treated at Abu Ghraib prison. But during Riyadh’s visit, viewers get a firsthand look at the men behind the fences. Many of them reach toward Riyadh. One states that he has been incarcerated for more than a year without trial.

Then Riyadh reaches a fenced-in prison area containing a 9-year-old boy. Riyadh approaches an officer and tells him that children should not be punished.

“We have looked through every one of these files,” the officer says. “These juveniles are dangerous.”

My Country, My Country is a far cry from other documentaries about the war, many of which don’t attempt to show the other side’s perspective. The facts it recounts have always been intellectually disturbing, but it is Poitras’ artistic approach that lends them emotional impact.