Homeland: Iraq Year Zero

Homeland: Iraq Year Zero from 2015 is a fascinating and immersive documentary offering a unique perspective into the raw reality of Iraq and its people. Directed by Abbas Fahdel, this ambitious two-part film split into "Before the Fall" and "After the Battle," presents a rare glimpse into the lives of ordinary Iraqis before and after the US invasion in 2003. The lead personas include Marmar Alhilali and Mohamed Qasim Sainakh, playing themselves, part of the director Abbas Fahdel's family. Their performances were not predestined acts; instead, the audience is invited into their life, observed and unfiltered.

The first part of the film, "Before the Fall" introspectively shows Iraq in 2002, during the calm before the storm. The movie reveals the peaceful, often mundane life led by many Iraqis, and their fearful anticipation of what they know is an imminent intervention. The focus is Fahdel's family, among them his endearing niece Marmar Alhilali, his relatives, friends, and neighbors, living in an ordinary residential district of the country's capital, Baghdad.

The camera follows them in their daily routines, observes their habits, and listens to their casual conversations, banter, and reflections. The atmosphere feels calm; people going about their lives, children playing, men conversing in the streets. Amid all this, sporadic discussions about the looming threat of the war provide an inevitably sobering tone and enhance the sense that war, home, and everyday life can sometimes be disturbingly intertwined. Fahdel presents us with a rare view of Iraq not often shown in the media: a country of warmth, hospitality, camaraderie, and a deep-seated concern for the future.

"Before the Fall" allows the audience to form a connection with the people before the seismic shift in their lives. It places the focus away from the political outlook instead of the human face of those affected by the decisions made by world leaders.

The second half of the film, "After the Battle," documents the bleak aftermath, as they deal with the direct consequences of the conflict. Fahdel took up the camera again two weeks after the fall of the regime, showing a country in ruins and the people's struggle to find normalcy again. The everyday life that once was, is televised no longer; instead, the audience bears witness to a broken society, shattered visually and culturally, working to piece itself back together.

As the film unfolds, scenes of destruction, military occupation, and rising social tension become more prevalent. More heart-wrenching is the mundane tragedies brought about by the war, whether it's Marmar's heartbroken reaction to the death of a pet bird due to lack of supplies or the futile efforts of townsfolk to clean up their bombed-out homes and streets.

Homeland: Iraq Year Zero proves itself as a movie free from the sensationalism often associated with war. It rather accentuates the daily life of the people before and after the bombing, showing the stark contrast in the most unembellished manner. This documentary is a hauntingly personal and revealing portrait of the human cost of war. It is raw in its depictions, profound and intimate, at times painful, but always incredibly real and human.

The film's close-insight look and the absence of an outsider's commentary allow viewers to form their connection and interpretations. It does not attempt to provide answers or solutions but instead showcases the realities of the situation as they unfolded. Scenes showing the American soldiers’ intervention, the struggles for food, water, or electricity serve as a testimony to the realities of conflict, occupation, and resilience.

Homeland: Iraq Year Zero is a captivating chronicle of people and their metamorphosis from ordinary citizens to survivors of war. It's an essential viewing, a socio-political document offering an unparalleled view of history through the eyes of those who endured it.