Iraq in Fragments

Name: Iraq in Fragments
Genre: Documentary
Released: 2006-01-21
Rating: 6.6

Documentary1h 34m

🍅91%

🍅

91%

Tomatometer

🍿

79%

Popcornmeter

6.6

TMDB

Storyline

An opus in three parts, Iraq In Fragments offers a series of intimate, passionately-felt portraits: A fatherless 11-year-old is apprenticed to the domineering owner of a Baghdad garage; Sadr followers in two Shiite cities rally for regional elections while enforcing Islamic law at the point of a gun; a family of Kurdish farmers welcomes the US presence, which has allowed them a measure of freedom previously denied. American director James Longley spent more than two years filming in Iraq to create this stunningly photographed, poetically rendered documentary of the war-torn country as seen through the eyes of Sunnis, Shiites and Kurds.

Trailers

Details

DirectorJames Longley

ReleasedJan 21, 2006

StatusReleased

Original languageKurdish

Budget

Not disclosed

Revenue

$202K

Parental guideNot rated

Studios

Typecast PicturesDaylight Factory

HBO Documentary Films

Reviews

8 reviews · 7 critics

5 fresh · 2 rotten

Critics consensus

“A stylistically bold, humanist take on the difficulties of post-invasion Iraq.”

91% TomatometerRotten Tomatoes

Stanley Kauffmann

RTThe New RepublicFeb 5, 2018

Longley is a film-maker of intelligence and empathy.

Marrit Ingman

RTAustin ChronicleMar 17, 2007

The technique is more expressionistic than naturalistic, but it makes the film far more vivid and emotionally satisfying.

Eleanor Ringel Cater

RTAtlanta Journal-ConstitutionMar 8, 2007

The film is both gritty and lyrical, showing how tanks share the Baghdad streets with donkeys as well as the quiet beauty of the Kurdish countryside.

Tricia Olszewski

RTWashington City PaperMar 6, 2008

Visually, the director's flair is impressive. But Longley's clear intention of using children's faces to better tug at our heartstrings would be more admirable if it didn't feel as shamelessly staged.