“A fascinating glimpse of an Iraq the mass media never shows us, the movie is a quiet revelation.”
– David Ansen, Newsweek
“IRAQ IN FRAGMENTS is the latest entry in the crowded field of documentaries from that war. It is also one of the best, partly because it is more concerned with exploring daily life and individual destinies than with articulating a position... Whether you think the war is right or wrong, IRAQ IN FRAGMENTS is a necessary reminder of just how painful and complicated it is.”
– A.O. Scott, The New York Times
“Sumptuous, deeply stirring! An oblique masterpiece that defies expectations in every frame with its jarring juxtaposition of harsh social realities and unexpected visual beauty. Astonishingly revealing. By turns tender and shocking.”
– Mark Holcomb, Time Out NY
“The first documentary about the war in Iraq to be made by a real filmmaker. Three powerful portraits. Longley has a gift for intimacy and an eye for vagrant touches of beauty everywhere…Even a black curl of bomb smoke becomes an entrancing pattern.”
– David Denby, The New Yorker
“Poetic, allusive, non-prescriptive and nearly as incendiary [as IRAQ FOR SALE]. The movie is more than the sum of its fragments. The montages are intense, the images ravishing. The movie is tactile.”
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David Edelstein, New York Magazine
“A patient, lyrically photographed, closely observed meditation that pays calm attention to aspects of Sunni, Shiite, and Kurdish daily life.”
– Entertainment Weekly
“Astonishing! A one-man production of startling audacity and aesthetic provocation.” – Rob Nelson, Village Voice
“Indispensable art!” – Stuart Klawans, The Nation
“Beautiful, at times magical. Vivid! Langley’s nimble camera renders the streets of Baghdad and Mohammed’s schoolroom as places that seem to hum with life. A visceral experience. Accomplishes the rare filmmaking feat of making viewers feel the mystical power of religion in action. Viewed by many as the ultimate cinematic statement on Iraq. Bewitching! Mr. Longley is both a tremendously skilled filmmaker and a brave one having spent two and a half years gathering his footage.”
– Nicolas Rapold, The New York Sun
“Cinematography that often captures light and landscapes of arresting beauty.” – Jay Carr, amNY |
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 A stunningly photographed, poetically rendered documentary of Iraq today, seen through the eyes of Sunnis, Shiites and Kurds. James Longley's 3-part opus is a series of intimate, passionately felt portraits: a fatherless 11-year-old is apprenticed to a cruel owner of a Baghdad garage; Sadr followers in two Shiite cities rally for regional elections while enforcing Islamic law at the point of a gun; a family of Kurdish farmers welcomes the US presence, which has allowed them a measure of freedom previously denied.
Directed and Photographed By James Longley
USA • 2006 • 94 minutes •
In Arabic & Kurdish with English Subtitles
Presented by Typecasting Films in Association with HBO Documentary Films
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