Perfectly adorable

Just perfect...

Best movie ever!

I like movies that are aware of what they are selling... without [any] greater aspirations than to make people laugh and that's it.

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.

This should be read before watching this movie, while watching please consider the following: This is an example of American media Iraqi style. This film is a propaganda film. BUT do not condemn this film without watching it because it is an excellent film. This film, which is summed up perfectly by a young man near the end of the film, focuses on the POSITIVE ASPECTS ONLY, of this war. The 150 digital cameras that were distributed to the Iraqi people whom made (part of) this film, were distributed by the army, this is obvious as the time frame of the film coincides with the advancement of the foreign military. This must be remembered during all times in this movie. In some cases the video footage was being shot by a US soldier (rocker scene) and in other cases by European troops (stated by one interviewee), at other times it seemed evident that interviews were being made in the presence of troops, or some foreign person. Also, besides the first section of the film (which i was very surprised to find in there), where anti American sentiment was being conveyed, the majority of the film consists of those who were opposed or oppressed by Saddam, and also, discluding the first section once again, none of the footage was from anywhere or anyone who had been directly affected by the war(as everyone in Iraq is obviously affected). This film did show how a lot of things DID get better as a result of Saddam's overthrow, such as the right to mobility and free speech being restored. My major beef with this films was the headlines...they were completely unnecessary, out of context and uncalled for, and i felt they took away from the integrity of the film. What i did like about this film was that it showed many of the different cultures in Iraq. In order to gain anything from this film I think you must ignore the politics and view this as a film about Iraqi culture. If you go into viewing this film knowing that it is propaganda, and being able to rationally interpret what the people are saying then i think this is actually a pretty cool film, on some of the good that came out of something so terrible. I give it a 7 out of 10.

I was looking forward to watching this movie, and it does contain very interesting perspectives from Iraqis all over the country, not just in major areas.However, as the film went on, and as it seemed to become increasingly more one-sided, I started wondering who had edited the film. To get several hundreds of hours down to just 80 minutes, obviously decisions had to be made.I would have really enjoyed a film that showed how everyday Iraqis felt on all sides of the issues, but with the newspaper headlines in contrast to what people were saying, and with everyone in the movie having the same opinion at the end, I thought it was obvious that the editing was done with a pre-conceived bias.It could have been such a great film.

I had never been motivated to submit a comment before seeing this film and reading the IMDb comments about it. The movie portrayed such a different attitude within Iraq than I expected that I could hardly wait to see what others had to say about it. The first thing I noticed in reading the comments was how some used their "comment" as a forum to attack "the left" rather than discuss the merits of the film. Those from the left suggested that this film may only show one side of the story.Sitting here in the USA, I have been frustrated by being unable to know what the real story is inside Iraq, so I was anxious to see this film. As others have said, it is definitely worth watching. It is an intimate, revealing and touching portrait of Iraqis and what it is like to live in Iraq. However, as I watched the film I couldn't help wondering who had made it and how accurate it is.While it is suggested or implied that all of the footage contained in the film was shot by private Iraqi citizens, this is not actually the case. The film also includes archival footage of torture and genocide perpetrated by Saddam Hussein and his regime. In addition, newspaper headlines are shown at different times during the film that appear to be designed to show how different the newspaper accounts were from what the film is showing. I'm not saying that any of this was inaccurate but it added subjectivity to the film that went beyond Iraqis expressing their views "in their own words" and "telling their own story" as the promo material suggests. To me this "editorializing" suggested and revealed a specific bias in the film.Furthermore, promotional material for the film states that "the producers of Voices of Iraq distributed over 150 digital video cameras across the entire country to enable everyday people - mothers, children, teachers, sheiks and even insurgents - to document their lives and their hopes amidst the upheaval of a nation being born." This is not really accurate. While the film does contain video footage of mothers, children, teachers and sheiks that was shot for the film, as stated, the video footage of "insurgents" was not shot for the film but shot by the insurgents themselves for their own purposes, whatever those may have been. Furthermore, the insurgent footage was not an interview at all but rather footage only of someone's hands wiring a bomb. Contrary to what was advertised, no information or opinion from the insurgent perspective was included in the film at all. Regardless of whether it is right or wrong, this is a significant perspective but one that was not addressed in the film and is not often addressed in Western media.All in all, I thought the movie was interesting and informative but couldn't help wondering what was contained in the 400 hours of footage that were left on the cutting room floor. As someone else said, I suggest that you watch the movie, do your own research and draw your own conclusions. For a different perspective on this situation watch "Control Room."