When one thinks of Iraq it is probable that you have an image of it. Lots of guns and lots of militia all around the cities. This movie shows the other side of it. The side after the images we normally think of. To be able to understand everything in this movie, knowledge about Iraq is required. In 2003 after the fall of Saddam Hussain, the country of Iraq was in a bad place. One of the worst things that were discovered after Saddam's fall were, mass graves, where not all the bodies in them could be identified. Those families who had sons or husbands in the military were forced to look for their relatives in this mass graves and most of the times they were not found. This is the setting for the movie Son of Babylon.
Ahmed has never meet his father who was drafted to join the military 12 years ago when Ahmed was born. Ahmed and his grandma, Um Ibrahim, decided to go look for Ahmed's father after she gets a letter from a friend of her son. They go out looking for him with nothing, they are not even sure if they will find him, they hope they will. Their journey is a long and tiresome one. They encounter some people along their way that might be able to help Ahmed at the end of the movie, or at least we hope they will. Their journey begins and ends with tragedy and sadness. Ahmed is forced to become independent and is left with nothing at the end, not even hope. The last scene of the movie is heartbreaking as we see Ahmed play the flute of his father while crying.
This movie really shows the effect war has on people. They suffer some more than other and they lose sometimes everything they have. Son of Babylon could be called a roadrtrip movie because we follow our characters on a trip that will change their lives forever but this movie is so much more. It opens a window to a world many of don't even imagine. A beautiful, tearful movie that will make you think about the consequences of war and the importance of family.
Ahmed has never meet his father who was drafted to join the military 12 years ago when Ahmed was born. Ahmed and his grandma, Um Ibrahim, decided to go look for Ahmed's father after she gets a letter from a friend of her son. They go out looking for him with nothing, they are not even sure if they will find him, they hope they will. Their journey is a long and tiresome one. They encounter some people along their way that might be able to help Ahmed at the end of the movie, or at least we hope they will. Their journey begins and ends with tragedy and sadness. Ahmed is forced to become independent and is left with nothing at the end, not even hope. The last scene of the movie is heartbreaking as we see Ahmed play the flute of his father while crying.
This movie really shows the effect war has on people. They suffer some more than other and they lose sometimes everything they have. Son of Babylon could be called a roadrtrip movie because we follow our characters on a trip that will change their lives forever but this movie is so much more. It opens a window to a world many of don't even imagine. A beautiful, tearful movie that will make you think about the consequences of war and the importance of family.