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Movies / On DVD / My Country, My Country
My Country, My Country

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My Country, My Country (2006)

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Reviews Counted: 34

Fresh: 29

Rotten:5

Average Rating: 7.1/10

Consensus: This war documentary offers a valuable look at Iraqi life under the U.S. occupation, and finds a compelling central subject in Dr. Riyadh.

Rated: Not Rated

Runtime: 90 mins

Genre: Education/General Interest

Theatrical Release: Aug 4, 2006 Limited

Synopsis: Working alone in Iraq over eight months, director/cinematographer Laura Poitras creates an extraordinarily intimate portrait of Iraqis living under U.S. occupation. Her principal focus is Dr. Riyadh, an Iraqi medical doctor, father... Working alone in Iraq over eight months, director/cinematographer Laura Poitras creates an extraordinarily intimate portrait of Iraqis living under U.S. occupation. Her principal focus is Dr. Riyadh, an Iraqi medical doctor, father of six and Sunni political candidate. An outspoken critic of the occupation, he is equally passionate about the need to establish democracy in Iraq, arguing that Sunni participation in the January 2005 elections is essential. Yet all around him, Dr. Riyadh sees only chaos, as his waiting room fills each day with patients suffering the physical and mental effects of ever-increasing violence. Dramatically interwoven into the personal journey of Dr. Riyadh is the landscape of the US military occupation, with Australian private security contractors, American journalists and the UN officials who orchestrate the elections. Unfolding like a narrative drama, MY COUNTRY, MY COUNTRY follows the agonizing predicament and gradual descent of one man caught in the tragic contradictions of the U.S. occupation of Iraq and its project to spread democracy in the Middle East. --© Zeitgeist Films [More]

Director: Laura Poitras

Director: Laura Poitras
Studio: Zeitgeist Films

DVD Info

 
 
 
 
Release:

Mar 20, 2007

[DVD Details]
 
 

DVD Features:

  • Keep Case
  • Anamorphic Widescreen

Audio:

  • (unspecified) - Arabic, English, Kurdish
  • Subtitles - English

Additional Release Material:

  • Additional Footage - 1. "Abu Ghraib Inspection"
  • Trailer - Theatrical Trailer

Text/Photo Galleries:

  • Production Notes

Reviews for My Country, My Country

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1 - 20 (sorted by date; Australian critics are listed first)
Text View | 1 2 >> >|
Arrange By: Fresh | Rotten | Comments | Name | Source | Date
 
 
Ratings Image

Part of the problem with the film, though, is that some of the scenes with the doctor and his family and the doctor and his patients have a staged feel to them -- as if, they were also putting on a "show."

Full Review Source: Murphy's Movie Reviews | comment Comment
07/14/07
Ted Murphy
Murphy's Movie Reviews
Ratings Image

Poitras demonstrates fine judgement in making Dr. Riyadh the central focus of her well-detailed story.

Full Review Source: Cinema Signals | comment Comment
02/05/07
Jules Brenner
Cinema Signals
Ratings Image

The documentary maintains an observant distance from the sweep of history, and even the elections.

Full Review Source: PopMatters | comment Comment
12/21/06
Cynthia Fuchs
PopMatters
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Nation | comment Comment
11/11/06
Stuart Klawans
Nation
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Deseret News, Salt Lake City | comment Comment
10/21/06
Deseret News, Salt Lake City
Ratings Image

Poitras creates a vivid portrait of Iraqi civilians siding with neither the U.S. occupation nor the insurgents but just looking for the killing to end.

Full Review Source: Salt Lake Tribune | comment Comment
10/20/06
Sean Means
Salt Lake Tribune
Ratings Image

A compelling report.

Full Review Source: Chicago Sun-Times | comment Comment
10/13/06
Bill Stamets
Chicago Sun-Times
Top Critic Icon Top Critic
Ratings Image

A memorable portrait of a nation's growing pains.

Full Review Source: Chicago Tribune | comment Comment
10/12/06
Michael Wilmington
Chicago Tribune
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Atlanta Journal-Constitution | comment Comment
09/30/06
Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Ratings Image

In 90 captivating minutes, Laura Poitras' extraordinary documentary My Country, My Country gives you a greater understanding of the situation in Iraq than you'd get from 100 hours of Fox News or CNN.

Full Review Source: Seattle Times | comment Comment
09/29/06
Jeff Shannon
Seattle Times
Ratings Image

... day-to-day life under occupation where citizens still live without power... and extremist rebels wage a campaign of intimidation against Iraqis and Americans alike.

Full Review Source: Seattle Post-Intelligencer | comment Comment
09/28/06
Sean Axmaker
Seattle Post-Intelligencer
Ratings Image

The camera should never leave the four walls of the Riyad family home. Beyond that story, there is a dullness to the pacing and the wider tale of the Iraqi elections.

Full Review Source: South Florida Sun-Sentinel | comment Comment
09/21/06
Laura Kelly
South Florida Sun-Sentinel
Ratings Image

Despite some flaws--docu doesn't illustrate the political backdrop or explains where the Sunis fit vis-a-vis the Kurds, Shia, Arbas--Poitras' feature is essential in venturing into new grounds that no journalists or directors have previously explored

Full Review Source: EmanuelLevy.Com | comment Comment
09/16/06
Emanuel Levy
EmanuelLevy.Com
Ratings Image

What My Country, My Country does best is show us that while both the Americans and the Iraqis care about the country's future, their cultural backgrounds and world views inevitably make them seem alien to each other.

Full Review Source: Los Angeles Times | comment Comment
09/15/06
Kenneth Turan
Los Angeles Times
Top Critic Icon Top Critic
Ratings Image

The film delivers powerful images of a country mired in chaos, where explosions, gunfire, power outages and unrest rule the day, leading to a national despondency that understandably fails to rise above the endemic suffering and daily death.

Full Review Source: Los Angeles Daily News | comment Comment
09/15/06
Glenn Whipp
Los Angeles Daily News
Ratings Image

Remarkable.

Full Review Source: L.A. Weekly | comment Comment
09/14/06
Ella Taylor
L.A. Weekly
Ratings Image

... sobering documentary ...

Full Review Source: San Francisco Chronicle | comment Comment
09/08/06
Walter V. Addiego
San Francisco Chronicle
Ratings Image

Journalism at its finest, as has not been practiced in the U.S. in some time.

Full Review Source: culturevulture.net | comment Comment
09/05/06
Les Wright
culturevulture.net
Ratings Image

The movie attempts to paint too large a canvas.

Full Review Source: Washington Post | comment Comment
09/01/06
Desson Thomson
Washington Post
Top Critic Icon Top Critic
Ratings Image

The fascinating story of the heroism of a busy Sunni doctor in Baghdad running for parliament in Iraq's January 30, 2005, election.

Full Review Source: Spirituality and Practice | comment Comment
09/01/06
Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat
Spirituality and Practice
1 - 20 (sorted by date; Australian critics are listed first)
Text View | 1 2 >> >|
See More Topics...

Related Forums for My Country, My Country

REEL_REVIEWER
(2006/Docu)-Laura Poitras' MY COUNTRY, MY COUNTRY scores SPIRIT nom for 2007 awards!!
by: REEL_REVIEWER 3/25/07


REEL_REVIEWER
(2006/Docu)-Laura Poitras' MY COUNTRY, MY COUNTRY scores SPIRIT nom for 2007 awards!!
by: REEL_REVIEWER 3/25/07


REEL_REVIEWER
(2006/Docu)-Laura Poitras' MY COUNTRY, MY COUNTRY scores SPIRIT nom for 2007 awards!!
by: REEL_REVIEWER 3/25/07


REEL_REVIEWER
(2006/Docu)-Laura Poitras' MY COUNTRY, MY COUNTRY scores SPIRIT nom for 2007 awards!!
by: REEL_REVIEWER 3/25/07


EPIC Interview with MY COUNTRY, MY COUNTRY Director Laura Poitras
by: emleaman 10/19/06
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