I felt this film was a study of ulterior motives; and after watching it, it left me focusing on the behaviour of the members of the film crew rather than Muthana's deeds. Muthana's journey out of Iraq is presented as an altruistic experiment; but, much like the invasion, the ramifications are ill-thought and the gesture is meek.
It seems that much of US politics focuses on character, so I can see why a person might judge this film on the personality of it's main-player; but I think that it would be an error to summarise 'Operation Filmmaker' based on a reflection of Muthana.
In my opinion, it's unfortunate that the previous poster has overlooked the fact that Muthana was engaged in a project that seemed more focused on professional vanity, than genuine support.
Part way through the film, some members of the crew express their displeasure that he wasn't more humble and willing to chip-in, but I'm left thinking that this may have been because he didn't meet the specific narrative objectives that they had imagined he'd fulfil. The decision to document the project from the very beginning, in some way seemed testament to this.
I came away thinking about how the war in Iraq has affected Iraq's society in complex ways. We're often informed of what the 'Iraqi citizen' thinks but we're rarely exposed to the idea that there is no general consensus. The society of Iraq is often trivialised and compacted into a monoculture it's strange and bizarre that we're able to accept this.
The film is interesting on many levels and it feels like the result wasn't expected by those involved in the project which makes the journey all the more engaging. Mostly it reminded me of the importance of conviction and the folly involved in trying to absolve guilt using superficial means.
It seems that much of US politics focuses on character, so I can see why a person might judge this film on the personality of it's main-player; but I think that it would be an error to summarise 'Operation Filmmaker' based on a reflection of Muthana.
In my opinion, it's unfortunate that the previous poster has overlooked the fact that Muthana was engaged in a project that seemed more focused on professional vanity, than genuine support.
Part way through the film, some members of the crew express their displeasure that he wasn't more humble and willing to chip-in, but I'm left thinking that this may have been because he didn't meet the specific narrative objectives that they had imagined he'd fulfil. The decision to document the project from the very beginning, in some way seemed testament to this.
I came away thinking about how the war in Iraq has affected Iraq's society in complex ways. We're often informed of what the 'Iraqi citizen' thinks but we're rarely exposed to the idea that there is no general consensus. The society of Iraq is often trivialised and compacted into a monoculture it's strange and bizarre that we're able to accept this.
The film is interesting on many levels and it feels like the result wasn't expected by those involved in the project which makes the journey all the more engaging. Mostly it reminded me of the importance of conviction and the folly involved in trying to absolve guilt using superficial means.