I honestly don't know all that much about the Muslim religion or the conflicts going on in Iran during the time this movie was made. Does it portray the Iranian people in a bad light? Maybe it does. But don't forget, Not Without My Daughter is a highly dramatized movie, the seemingly sadistic nature of Moody and the primitive conditions in the setting chances are have been exaggerated to make the movie more exciting to viewers. It's also told from the POV of an American woman who traveled to another country, not used to the culture, during a conflict in the country, so her view on the subject might be different from the other people involved. This is why I'd highly recommend not taking this movie too seriously. Yes it was based on true events, but it's all dramatized.
It doesn't matter if you're from Iran or America or any other place in the world, an abusive husband is an abusive husband. And the movie never went to say that all Iranian men are wife-beating creeps, in fact most of the Muslim people shown in the movie were very nice and caring people, trapped under the thumb of strict religion and laws. They were obeying orders to protect themselves and their loved ones, just like we would do, like anyone would do. In fact it wasn't America that brought Betty and her daughter home, it was a very understanding Iranian shopkeeper and his partner (and by the way Betty leaves her baby son there, no idea why).
Stereotypes are often in the media, where countries portray other countries in stereotypical ways. For example, Canada and the United States have a back and forth game. In movies and TV, The States portrays Canadians as environmental hippie, eh-saying do-gooders who love eating moose and seals (we're not at all like that, none of the people in my town anyway). Canada portrays Americans as gun-loving, obese idiots (they're not). Unfortunately stereotypes are always going to be there. I recently noticed a plot similar to Not Without My Daughter in the 2012 Lifetime movie Left to Die, which portrays South America as a poverty-stricken world of thieves and liars. An American woman gets arrested and put in prison there. I found it to be very inaccurate, but it was only a movie.
Not Without My Daughter is much like a Lifetime movie, don't expect it to be the most accurate thing in the world. For what it's worth, the acting and soundtrack wasn't bad at all. It's not the best movie I've ever seen, but for entertainment alone it manages to keep you watching 'till the end, so you've gotta give it credit for that. Just don't watch it in place of reading a textbook or accurate information. If I were you I'd read up on the Muslim religion and the conflicts taking place at the time of the movie to get a better understanding of the reality behind the Hollywood drama.
It doesn't matter if you're from Iran or America or any other place in the world, an abusive husband is an abusive husband. And the movie never went to say that all Iranian men are wife-beating creeps, in fact most of the Muslim people shown in the movie were very nice and caring people, trapped under the thumb of strict religion and laws. They were obeying orders to protect themselves and their loved ones, just like we would do, like anyone would do. In fact it wasn't America that brought Betty and her daughter home, it was a very understanding Iranian shopkeeper and his partner (and by the way Betty leaves her baby son there, no idea why).
Stereotypes are often in the media, where countries portray other countries in stereotypical ways. For example, Canada and the United States have a back and forth game. In movies and TV, The States portrays Canadians as environmental hippie, eh-saying do-gooders who love eating moose and seals (we're not at all like that, none of the people in my town anyway). Canada portrays Americans as gun-loving, obese idiots (they're not). Unfortunately stereotypes are always going to be there. I recently noticed a plot similar to Not Without My Daughter in the 2012 Lifetime movie Left to Die, which portrays South America as a poverty-stricken world of thieves and liars. An American woman gets arrested and put in prison there. I found it to be very inaccurate, but it was only a movie.
Not Without My Daughter is much like a Lifetime movie, don't expect it to be the most accurate thing in the world. For what it's worth, the acting and soundtrack wasn't bad at all. It's not the best movie I've ever seen, but for entertainment alone it manages to keep you watching 'till the end, so you've gotta give it credit for that. Just don't watch it in place of reading a textbook or accurate information. If I were you I'd read up on the Muslim religion and the conflicts taking place at the time of the movie to get a better understanding of the reality behind the Hollywood drama.