Save your money for something good and enjoyable

Don't listen to the negative reviews

The story, direction, characters, and writing/dialogue is akin to taking a tranquilizer shot to the neck, but everything else was so well done.

This is a small, humorous movie in some ways, but it has a huge heart. What a nice experience.

In that scary black-clad Iranian crowd covered by gigantic Khomeyni portraits (I've seen jollier pictures), a redeemable Muslim person is actually more difficult to spot than Waldo. Indeed, there have been movies where a whole town or a group of people have played the bad-guy role, but for the sake of fair play and objectivity, they were always given a chance to raise their voices and give their side of the story. But "Not Without My Daughter" gives the mother's side, and only the mother's side. Her name is Betty Mahmoodi and she's played by Sally Field.Surely a woman of such intelligence could go beyond the trauma of her experience and expect that such a story wouldn't improve the general opinion about Islam. But what one can say about the cry of a mother who, apparently, didn't find any ally among the people who surrounded her during two nightmarish years… apart from those who helped her to leave the country? And even then, you have a primitive guy trying to abuse her in her sleep. It's very revealing when there's no attempt whatsoever to shine not one single positive light on a Muslim, except if he explicitly speaks against Islam. No one would ever believe after watching the film, that what happened in Iran was perceived as a regression, even from a Muslim standpoint, even for Iranians.Look at today's Iran, look at the Iran of "A Separation", look at any documentary and you'll see women wearing make-up and showing hair, you'll and see how far it is from the one-dimensional depiction in "Not Without My Daughter", where even women seem to approve the aggressive behavior of Betty's husband. I don't think it is possible to accept that a human group can be that brainwashed, so lacking in empathy everybody would act with the same level of blind hatred. The film is efficient on that level, because we see the family from Betty's eyes and we all despise them, and as soon as Betty sets foot in Iran, we just want her (and her daughter) to get the hell out of it. And this is the most infuriating and frustrating aspect of the film, because our persuasion can only lead to contempt. And if the drama involving Betty's separation from her country and the risk of losing her daughter Mathob, the interaction of Sally Field and her daughter, are efficient, I wish the screenplay wasn't so abrupt in the husband's reversal.Alfred Molina is a great actor, and when the film begins, you can feel the love and tenderness he has for Betty and Mathob, we feel his pain when he's teased by his colleagues, mocking Iran's ignorance and primitiveness, and we love the genuine interactions with Mathob when he tells her that Iran used to be Persia, a rich and civilized country. But when he goes to Iran, he becomes a caricature, illustrating the very negative archetypes he was fighting against. A flawed and tormented character suddenly turns into a one-dimensional villain à la "Mommie Dearest". Yes, he lied to his wife and she had the right to be angry at him, but one should go beyond emotions. It wouldn't have hurt the film to have a few words about the Iran-Iraq war, to highlight the way it affected the husband, even more because USA was indeed giving weapons to Iraq at that time. But no, Moodi had to be a 'regular' wife-beater.And "Not Without My Daughter" exploits a terrifying experience (if only because Betty's goes from a steady idyllic setting to a country in War) to display every possible archetype against Islam. She's welcomed by the sight of a bleeding sheep, men react like hysterical hyenas when she lets her hair loose, there are mentions of girls being married at nine, or women being considered as totally disposable and so forth. The film was directed in 1991, 2 years after the Cold War ended, and in the midst of a war against Iraq, the Green scare had efficiently replaced the Red ones and movies didn't have to wait too long Ironically, when "Not Without My Daughter" was released, Iraq became the enemy, so in the eyes of people, whatever was Muslim or Arabic, belonged to the darkest side of humanity. And the fatwa against Salman Rushdie didn't improve the publicity.Sometimes, I remember what I said about "Midnight Express", one of my favorite movies, and I said that the film wasn't a cry against Turkey but a hymn for hope and perseverance against adversity. One can say the same about "Not Without My Daughter", except that the bars that make the prison are cultural barriers that reassemble all the negative imagery one has about Islam. And while I love to see the ending as the triumph of a mother who saved her daughter, I bet many viewers would look at it as the triumph of civilization over primitive. Now people not only fear Islam, but they think they have good reasons to do so. I was just watching a "South Park" episode recently (and I love "South Park") and an Iraqi guy shot Santa Claus and talked with ugly bark-sounding gibberish, with Bagdad looking as primitive as Kabul or Iran. I laughed at the satire but I knew some people would see this as the proof that there is something inherently evil in Muslim people.And that's not the right mindset, not for Muslims, not any people in the world. Typically, "Not Without My Daughter" is the kind of films loved for the wrong reasons. And it could have been a poignant multi-layered drama, it chose to be a one-sided view of reality, one that overshadowed the inspiring story of a courageous mother, as we never got the side of Iranian people, or, for what it's worth, the side of the father.

"I don't know how to say this to you. We're not going back. We're staying here."Not Without My Daughter is basically a family drama that focuses on spouses from two very different cultures that clash together. Sally Field plays Betty, an American woman who has been happily married in the States with her Iranian husband, Moody (played by Alfred Molina). The two have a beautiful young daughter played by Sheila Rosenthal. The film takes place in the 80's when tension between America and Iran began escalating, and in a way it begins to take a toll on Betty's marriage. Moody gets bullied a lot at the hospital where he works due to his Iranian background and he eventually ends up losing his job. He convinces Betty to come along with him to Iran to visit his family and that is where the tension escalates because Moody's intentions are to stay in Iran. The Iranian culture is very patriarchal so Betty can't return to the States with her daughter and ends up being held against her will in a country that seems to despise her. Moody who seemed to be a loving husband, goes through a drastic change when he arrives at Iran and begins abusing his wife and forcing her to stay against her will. The film then centers on Betty's attempt to find a way out of her current situation. Sally Field and Alfred Molina are talented actors, but I fear the material they had to work with was very weak. These characters are stereotypes of how we perceive Iranians to be and I'm afraid the characters are never given distinct personalities other than portraying the Iranians as bad people. I just found the story a bit too lazy and predictable because it was full of clichés. The film plays out exactly the way you are expecting it to.

Finally watched it last week after reading an article referencing it. Sally Field and the rest of the cast were excellent as was the script and dialogue. The movie is fast paced and although it is long, I didn't once find myself looking at the time. The only part I couldn't work out was whether the teachers in the school were sympathetic to her or not - would love it if someone could tell me their thoughts on this! I found this story so engaging that I then searched for more information about Betty's story, interviews etc. The movie is quite violent (women being beaten) in parts so I would not recommend this being viewed anywhere that children could walk in This movie has really stood the test of time.

It sometimes happens that one's world is suddenly turned upside down: A telephone call from the police about a fatal car crash; coming home to find your home in flames, etc. This movie is about how a woman deals with a sudden life-changing event. Sally Field gives a fine performance. The movie will pull you in, you will forget about your life and your troubles, and you will be fully engaged with the drama on the screen.This movie is much better than the (as of this writing) 5.8 rating. The reason is that 11% of the votes are 1's, probably from muslims who want to discourage people from watching this film. So, if you are not Muslim, do not be put off by the mediocre IMDb rating. The movie is excellent cinema.