1/5 Documentary? Rather empty video clip...
  by Bertrand Portier (TAHITI FRENCH POLYNESIA)
This doc tells us anything at all. For example, in the second part, we see people fighting in something like a market place (is it? we don't know), and we don't know at all who is fighting and what for. And, that's immoral Mr Longley, this scene is filmed like a video clip. Unlearning doc. Undoc doc. I do not understand all those film festival prices...

4/5 Disturbing and Thought-Provoking
  by Kevin Quinley (Fairfax, VA)
"Iraq in Fragments" is a play on words. On one level, the documentary shows how fragmented the country is. The tale is told in three parts: from the vantage point of a young boy in Baghdad, a glimpse of life in Sadr City among the followers of Moqtada al Sadr, and the Kurds of the rural northern region. On another level, the film tells its story in fragments.

It is tempting to paint this as an anti-American film, or a film biased against the current American occupation. It is also easy to become very depressed considering the intractable problems in this country and the fact that neither indefinite occupation nor quick withdrawal offer any easy answers or solutions.

Life in Sadr City is marked by masked armed thugs raiding the markets, snatching away "suspects" whose "crime" is allegedly selling alcohol. This is the Iraqi democracy that the people there want?

Vignettes of the Kurdish north offer a different perspective, with some of the people there seeing America as having liberated the Kurds from the tyranny of Saddam Hussein. Have they replaced it with a better life? You may not like the answer.

"Iraq in Fragments" offers a grim view - at least one perspective - on the festering wound that this country has become. No answers are offered. Where you stand vis a vis the documentary may well depend on where you sit.


5/5 For a true portrait of each of the three sections of Iraq, Iraq in Fragments can't be topped
  by Z. Freeman (Austin, TX)
Iraq in Fragments accurately describes not only the moving documentary by James Longley, but also the current political and social situation in the middle eastern country. Presented in three parts - Sunni, Shia, and Kurdish - Iraq in Fragments is a documentary set apart from the rest. Winning Best Documentary Cinematography, Best Documentary Editing, and Best Documentary Director at the 2006 Sundance Film Festival, Iraq in Fragments has the official Sundance sanction of being a little better made than the rest of the current documentaries about the war-torn country of Iraq.

Presenting Iraqis in a very human and unbiased way, Iraq in Fragments starts out with the intense portrait of a young Sunni boy named Mohammed who has been "adopted" by a garage owner who mistreats, verbally abuses, and mocks the poor child. His life is examined in detail as he goes from work to school and back again. Listening to the older Sunni men discuss the American occupation around the back door of the garage is akin to listening to American men discuss the war on a back porch next to a barbeque pit. Their opinions may simply be their opinions but they are given ample time to discuss them and the audience is given ample opportunity to digest them.

Part two is devoted to the examination of Shia Sadr followers in two cities as they prepare for elections. An extremely intimate portrayal of Shia "death squads", as they have been called in the American news, shows the Iraqi police as they arrest men for allegedly selling alcohol in a town market. How Longley managed to get the footage he has is anybody's guess. Risking life and limb for the proper shots, Longley is able to present an Iraq few may have ever seen, though several non-fiction books have mentioned the circumstances portrayed.

The final chapter focuses on the Kurdish farmers of Iraq, who welcome the American forces and celebrate the replacement of Saddam. The focus of this chapter is on a young Kurdish boy who dreams of being a doctor some day. This section of the film, entitled Kurdish Spring, is the most moving and ultimately upbeat portion of the film, and marks a good choice for the final piece of the fragmented Iraqi portrait.

Throughout the film, Longley opts for intimate stories of individuals rather than a broad portrayal of all of Iraq, and he succeeds on all accounts. This may leave some viewers slightly confused, however, as each section is not properly introduced as Sunni, Shia, or Kurdish. Iraq in Fragments is a film dedicated to the educated viewer, and those who have done their research on Iraq will surely appreciate the individually honest portraits that Longely has painted here. For well studied filmgoers, Iraq in Fragments offers the kind of inside view of a wartorn country that we have been waiting for. The story is not bogged down or enmeshed in a narrator's diaglogue, designed to sway the viewer's opinion in any direction; the footage is simply displayed as is. Longley spent upwards of two years in Iraq gathering this footage, and it was well worth the while. For a true portrait of each of the three sections of Iraq, Iraq in Fragments can't be topped.

5/5 Simple yet Artfully Complex
  by K. Thornton (Eastern US)
"Iraq in Fragments" reflects the lives of ordinary Iraqis, their misery, hope, anger, joy, and desperation. It is divided into three parts, following at first a young apprentice in Baghdad, a Shia cleric in Sadr city, and a young brick maker in Kurdistan. The cinematography is stunning, and Longley deserves the accolades for achieving such art on a solo project. Each sequence is beautifully shot and intelligently edited, capturing with uncommon clarity the prismatic complexity and depth of this world to which so few care to listen. "Iraq in Fragments" does not impose political ideology, economic theory, or any other arm-chair speculation. It is a portrait of human beings.

5/5 A Truly Extraordinary Film
  by Mattole (Lost Coast, California)
Eric is right - if you want to see an action-packed, fast-moving film about people who think and act in familiar and yet highly exciting and entertaining ways, then this is probably not the film for you. However if you want to treat yourself to a gorgeous, subtle and masterfully-rendered portrait of Iraqi life under occupation, then I highly recommend this film. As a 28-year veteran of the documentary world and a former director for National Geographic I can wholeheartedly say that this is one of the finest documentaries I have ever seen. The cinematography, music, editing and sound design are superb. The character development is deep and nuanced. I learned a great deal by watching this film, both about Iraqi culture and about the art of filmmaking. May the director James Longley live long, and may he gift us with many more of his films!