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Amazon.co.uk Review
The Arab anti-defamation leagues understandably had a field day with this one. Sally Field plays Betty Mahmoody, an American who marries an Iranian (Alfred Molina) and has a child. They go back to Iran for a visit and, to her horror, he tells her he's decided to stay there. If she wants to leave, she must leave her daughter behind. If she stays, Betty must live in a culture vastly different and, she believes, very dangerous. Part thriller, part culture clash, the film certainly takes advantage of Americans' perceptions of Iran after the unrest of the '70s and early '80s. Molina is truly despicable as the husband, while Field projects a lot of overheated anguish as Betty tries to figure out a way to escape the country with her daughter. Overheated, in fact, is the word for the whole melodrama. --Marshall Fine, amazon.com
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
35 of 36 people found the following review helpful
Format:DVD
Based on Betty Mahmoody's account of her 18 months in Iran, this is a gripping, emotional roller coaster of a film that kept me riveted to the screen for all of its 115 minutes.
Though fearful, Betty agreed to go for a two-week visit to Iran with her husband Moody and daughter Mahtob, only to find at the end of the two weeks that her husband was fired from his job in the US, and he has no intention of leaving Iran. Moody's family are primitive village people, very extreme in their views, and Moody, at first to "save face, and then perhaps degenerating into the man he was before being "Americanized", inceasingly controls Betty with force and humiliation, all within the Ayatollah Khomeni's insane and rigorous Islamic state of 1984.
Though fearful, Betty agreed to go for a two-week visit to Iran with her husband Moody and daughter Mahtob, only to find at the end of the two weeks that her husband was fired from his job in the US, and he has no intention of leaving Iran. Moody's family are primitive village people, very extreme in their views, and Moody, at first to "save face, and then perhaps degenerating into the man he was before being "Americanized", inceasingly controls Betty with force and humiliation, all within the Ayatollah Khomeni's insane and rigorous Islamic state of 1984.
Her struggle to get out of Iran with her daughter is what this film is about (it would have been easy to leave alone), and there are many brave Iranians who risk their lives to help her. The claim that this film is racist is irrational, doesn't take these heroic people into consideration, and is an example of the narrow-minded intolerance shown in this film, a mindset that led to 9/11.
Though made in 1990, this is a very timely film to watch, and relates to the problem of abuse in every culture. I don't understand why it has slipped under the radar screen and is not more widely known. The acting is excellent by the entire cast, and the direction by Brian Gilbert is tight and feels like a top-notch thriller at times, with Jerry Goldsmith's terrific score and Peter Hannan's wonderful cinematography, shot on location in Israel, which is fantastic in the last portion of the film.
Sally Field and Alfred Molina give the performance of their lives, in what is much more than a "woman's film"; this is a film about humanity and extraordinary courage, and should have a much wider audience than it has had.
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
Format:DVD
This film tells the true story of Betty Mahmoody, a white American woman who marries her Iranian-Muslim husband. The couple live a normal, happy and secular marriage in America, and have a daughter together. However, just after the outbreak of the Iranian revolution, she agrees to visit Iran with her husband, after he tells her he must see his dying mother. After they arrive, he informs her he was lying, and that now they will remain in Iran for good. His personality dramatically changes, and long gone is the gentle, liberal man she once knew. Instead, he regularly beats and abuses her, insists she and their daughter wear the Islamic veil, and forbids her from using the telephone or leaving the house. She states she will not tolerate this, and wishes to leave. He tells her she may leave whenever she wishes, but cannot take their daughter. Betty then embarks on a dangerous plan to escape from Iran with her daughter, knowing that she will face certain death if caught.
The film is very gripping. Both Sally Field and Alfred Molina are exceptionally good in this film, and the historical accuracy is very strong, such as when the Iraqi army begin attacking their city as the Iran-Iraq war breaks out. Some of the scenes can be rather jarring, such as when his relatives sacrifice a still twitching goat during a religious festival, as are some of the domestic violence scenes.
Some have alleged this film is Islamophobic. This is not the case, in fact, a large number of Muslim characters are shown in a very positive light, as they risk their lives to help her escape. All in all, this film is a powerful protrayal of a truly courageous woman's love for her daughter.
The film is very gripping. Both Sally Field and Alfred Molina are exceptionally good in this film, and the historical accuracy is very strong, such as when the Iraqi army begin attacking their city as the Iran-Iraq war breaks out. Some of the scenes can be rather jarring, such as when his relatives sacrifice a still twitching goat during a religious festival, as are some of the domestic violence scenes.
Some have alleged this film is Islamophobic. This is not the case, in fact, a large number of Muslim characters are shown in a very positive light, as they risk their lives to help her escape. All in all, this film is a powerful protrayal of a truly courageous woman's love for her daughter.
14 of 16 people found the following review helpful
Format:DVD
I do not agree with the first viewer who marked this film as garbage. If he says that the film is a work of anti-Islamic thoughts, than he himself should re-think how he perceives other cultures...just by saying this.The review he has given here is his own opinion about the Americans not a review of the film! The main character, Betty, is a woman who tries to describe the hopelessness she felt over the situation of being deceived by her husbend and the cruel way she was treated in his own country. She followed him there because she trusted him. Through her eyes, what she experienced there was a culture that orders an utter obedience to women and leaves them hardly any rights, which was alien to her. There have been other cases of mistreating women in the Far East and I am sure they did not make it up just to make a movie! Other than that, it is great that this film was released to give us an insight how someone's life can turn upside down by crushes of cultures.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
A lot of true stories about abusive husband in marriage like this one...
(THE FILM)This is a strongly divisive but nonetheless effective piece of film making based on a true story, in which an American woman tries to escape from Iran with her... Read more
Published 1 month ago by S. F. husseiny
The best movie
Every christian woman should thing before marring a muslim man because this is always happens. This is the best movie I ever seen and every thing had happened in this movie happens... Read more
Published 1 month ago by Klara
fantastic film
I LOVE THIS FILM,SALLY FIELDS IS GREAT,ITS QUITE SCAREY IN BITS,GOOD OVER ALL,SHOWS YOU JUST HOW EASY THINGS CAN HAPPENS,AND WHAT YOU'D DO.
Published 8 months ago by digby
Not Without my Daughter
This is the second time I have read this book. I could not put it down. I believe it gives a real insight into life in Iran both in the eighties and to a great extent today. Read more
Published 11 months ago by Patti
Good movie
This movie is set about 30 years ago, in the aftermath of the Iran Revolution and stars Sally Field as an American woman who marries an Iranian man. Read more
Published 15 months ago by M
Worth the watching and very educational
This was a very emotional and disturbing DVD but well worth watching to enable one to understand how other cultures live, and how women in this society are viewed. Read more
Published 16 months ago by Michelle
Not Without My Daughter
Having read the book many years ago, we were quite sceptical as to whether the DVD would come up to our expectations. Read more
Published 17 months ago by margaret
Ok
I totally devoured the book and had looked forward immensely to seeing the film of it. Sally Fields is a great actress, but at times I found this film a bit "wooden". Read more
Published 20 months ago by Mrs. N. Millican
not without my daughter
A very good DVD. The film was amazing showing life to day in the East. The film was well acted. Unfortunetly the quality of my DVD was not very good so I did miss a few scenes. Read more
Published 21 months ago by lluxor
Frightning!!!!
A great read and film, gives insight into to some countries beliefs and culture. Not the norm in most parts of the middle east and Muslim religion!!
Published 23 months ago by Mrs. A. Owen
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