Not Without My Daughter
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| Not Without My Daughter | |
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 Theatrical release poster |
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| Directed by | Brian Gilbert |
| Produced by | Harry J. Ufland |
| Written by | Betty Mahmoody William Hoffer David W. Rintels |
| Starring | Sally Field Alfred Molina Sheila Rosenthal Roshan Seth Sarah Badel Mony Rey Georges Corraface |
| Music by | Jerry Goldsmith |
| Cinematography | Peter Hannan |
| Editing by | Terry Rawlings Ofer Bedarshi (video) |
| Distributed by | MGM |
| Release date(s) |  January 11, 1991 |
| Running time | 115 min. |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English Persian |
| IMDb profile | |
Not Without My Daughter is a 1991 film depicting the real life escape of American citizen Betty Mahmoody and her daughter from her husband in Iran. It was filmed in the USA and Israel and the main characters are played by movie-stars Sally Field and Alfred Molina.
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[edit] Production
The movie was based on a book with the same title, written by Betty Mahmoody and William Hoffer and based on Betty's version of events. The screenplay was written by John W. Winters. It was directed by Brian Gilbert and filmed at GG Studios, Neve Ilan, Israel and in Atlanta, Georgia.
[edit] Plot
After many years of marriage to an Iranian doctor named Moody (Alfred Molina), Alpena, Michigan-bred Betty (Sally Field) is convinced by him to visit his family in Tehran for the first time. Although she has a lot of trepidation about traveling to the Middle East, her fear of violence is overcome by sympathy for her husband, who misses his family. After Moody swears on the Qu'ran that everything will be fine, Betty agrees to go. The happy couple set out with their young daughter, Mahtob, on a planned two week family vacation.
Upon arrival, Betty is immediately required to wear the traditional black veil, and is nearly arrested for inadvertently exposing some of her hair. Contrary to everything Betty had previously been led to believe, her husband's family turns out to be fanatically devout and conservative Muslims, who are very unhappy with how Americanized Moody has become. Towards the end of their scheduled holiday, her husband reveals that he has been fired from his job in Michigan and has decided the family will stay in Iran, where they are desperate for doctors. Suddenly, she sees a completely different side of him. When she objects to staying, he beats her and takes her credit cards, money and identification. She soon realizes that she and her daughter have become prisoners in her sister-in-law's home. She manages to call her own mother in the U.S. who provides her with an Embassy contact, before her husband cuts off her access to the telephone.
Betty sneaks out of the house and gets to the Swiss Embassy, where she learns that under Iranian law women have no legal rights concerning their children; she and her daughter are considered Iranian citizens and cannot leave the country without Moody's signed permission. To make matters worse, if Betty were to get a divorce, she could leave Iran but Mahtob would have to stay since Moody would get sole custody. Her husband becomes increasingly violent with her and she is watched around the clock by his unsympathetic relatives. Realizing that her opportunities to escape are limited, she plays the part of a devout Muslim wife. She attempts to mend the relationship with her husband and expresses an interest in converting to Islam. Eventually, her husband loosens his tight reign, moving the family into his brother's home. Her traumatized daughter is enrolled in a Muslim school, where Betty is allowed to accompany her. In a class about the Qu'ran, Betty meets another American woman who is also being held hostage. The woman ends up being horribly beaten by her husband for trying to mail a letter for Betty and all outside contact is lost.
Over time, Moody trusts Betty to make short, timed trips to the market, without her daughter. In the marketplace she meets a man who is part of an underground network that assists Western women in her position and she begins to plan her escape. When her father falls ill, Moody makes plans for her to return to the U.S. for a visit. Her initial happiness fades when he informs her that her daughter will remain in Iran with him, while she liquidates all their assets in the U.S. and sends the money back to Iran. When she objects to leaving Mahtob behind, he slams his fists on the table and walks away from the table yelling, "Its my money and I want it!" Fearing that she will never see her daughter again if she leaves her in Iran, she accelerates her escape plan. In a harrowing journey through the desert and mountains she and Mahtob escape Iran through Turkey, after eighteen months of living in Iran.
The movie was released a few days before the Persian Gulf War started. Some scenes of Not Without My Daughter have been repeatedly shown by IRIB in Iran.
[edit] Controversy
Not Without My Daughter has been described as "one of the two books written since the Islamic Revolution" that have "resulted in uproar" and that have become the "most hated" books in Iran - the other book being Satanic Verses by Salman Rushdie. Both books are banned in Iran. According to one view, "the problem with this book is the unrelentingly grim picture it presents of Iran." While Iran is not shown in a completely negative light as there are generous and kind Iranians who arrange for the escape of Betty Mahmoody and her daughter from Iran, this has not improved the book's image with Islamic Republic supporters, since those "good" Iranians depicted are aristocratic opponents of the regime who listen to European classical music. [1]
A Finnish documentary, Without My Daughter was made by Alexis Kouros. Kouros said that the aim of the 90-minute documentary was to "show the lies in the American film and present the real story behind" what turned into an acrimonious custody battle for Mahtob Mahmoody.[2]
[edit] Trivia
- Actress Sheila Rosenthal won the Best Actress Young Artist Award for her portrayal of Mahtob in the film.
- "Not Without My Daughter" is the name of the 21st episode of Arrested Development.
- "Not Without My Daughter" is the name of an episode of The Sarah Silverman Program.
- This film was parodied in an April Fool's Day episode of South Park, in which the characters Terrence and Philip star in the made for TV movie "Not Without My Anus".
[edit] References
- ^ Iran, Pat Yale, Anthony Ham, Paul Greenway. Lonely Planet Publications, 2001, p.86
- ^ Finnish documentary counters anti-Iran propaganda in US film
[edit] See also
- Without My Daughter (documentary film)
- Anti-Iranian sentiment
- Midnight Express
[edit] External links
- Not Without My Daughter at the Internet Movie Database
- Not Without My Daughter clip
- Vilified in Hollwood, father still 'Without My Daughter'
- A criticism of Not Without My Daughter
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