Résumés(1)
Iraqi filmmaker Saad Salman has been living in Paris for more than twenty-five years after having fled from the regime because of his political opinions. Because he received word that his mother is seriously ill, he decided to return to Iraq, to pay her a visit in the capital, Baghdad. With the help of a guide – a wise and extremely phlegmatic man – he was able to cross the border, but then the trouble really started. With his guide, who promises again and again to take the filmmaker to Baghdad the next day, Salman drives round endlessly in the Kurdish, UN-protected part of Iraq, looking for a safe access to the area around Baghdad that is controlled by the Iraqi army. Meanwhile, he uses his inconspicuous digital video camera to film in different Kurdish refugee camps and records testimonies by victims of Saddam Hussein. Baghdad On/Off is an extraordinary road movie that not just shows misery, but also leaves room for music, songs and parties. The Iraqis have not lost their sense of humour, as is also evident from the laconic remarks by the guide. Still, in the background, the continuous threat of violence and oppression is tangible. ‘It is normal to be afraid – you are in Iraq!’. Despite its sometimes disconcerting contents, Baghdad On/Off is very much a poetic, melancholic film; a mourning song for a lost fatherland. (International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam)
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