Boy of Baghdad

January. 01,2004      
Rating:
5.8
Trailer Synopsis Cast

Using an embedded Iraqi camera crew, AFI has delivered an unprecedented look at life inside post-war Iraq, all from the unique perspective of a precocious twelve-year-old boy. Doe-eyed and adorable Kheer Allah lives with his mother, father, two brothers and sister. Their "home" has no furniture and no modern appliances, except for an old television and radio sitting precariously atop a stack of used tires. There's no meat on this family's table. Home-baked pita bread is the staple in this beyond-poor household. School is out of the question too. Young Kheer Allah must work every day to help his family survive. This daily struggle forms the heart of this remarkable film. Through the wind-swept and war-ravaged streets of his neighborhood, Kheer Allah parlays his abundant charm into a variety of odd jobs that bring little money, but much satisfaction to his ever-smiling face.

Similar titles

Greed
Greed
A lottery win of $5,000 forever changes the lives of a miner turned dentist and his wife.
Greed 1924
Coach Zoran and His African Tigers
Coach Zoran and His African Tigers
Documentary following Serbian football coach Zoran Đorđević as he helps form South Sudan's first national football team.
Coach Zoran and His African Tigers 2014
Hidden Away
Hidden Away
The film tackles the life journey of Toni Ligabue, visionary naïf painter who used to draw tigers, lions and jaguars while living among the poplar trees of the boundless Po valley. A harsh life that is a fairy tale too, as a lonely and marginalized kid finds redemption in his art, and a way to express himself and be admired by the world.
Hidden Away 2020
Dreaming Nicaragua
Dreaming Nicaragua
DREAMING NICARAGUA is a film about HOPE. It's about love for the dignity and courage of the human spirit that, even immersed in uttermost tragic conditions, fights for a better life, and in this case, with a friendly SMILE. DREAMING is a sensitive and lyrical portrayal of four children living in extreme poverty in Nicaragua. The film takes us beyond their hardships and gives voice to the youngsters, who are surprisingly funny, hopeful, and optimistic. A traveling art teacher provides a safe arena for our four unlikely protagonists to express their innermost thoughts. When painting, the kids momentarily escape the stresses of their reality into a world of dreams and ideas, a stark contrast to their lives outside: a vicious cycle of hunger, child labor, and violence. Despite the extreme circumstances, the children and their families face their lives with an inspiring unity, strength and humor.
Dreaming Nicaragua 2010
My Own Private Idaho
My Own Private Idaho
In this loose adaptation of Shakespeare's "Henry IV," Mike Waters is a hustler afflicted with narcolepsy. Scott Favor is the rebellious son of a mayor. Together, the two travel from Portland, Oregon to Idaho and finally to the coast of Italy in a quest to find Mike's estranged mother. Along the way they turn tricks for money and drugs, eventually attracting the attention of a wealthy benefactor and sexual deviant.
My Own Private Idaho 1991
Monster
Prime Video
Monster
An emotionally scarred highway drifter shoots a sadistic trick who rapes her, and ultimately becomes America's first female serial killer.
Monster 2003
The Breadwinner
Prime Video
The Breadwinner
A headstrong young girl in Afghanistan, ruled by the Taliban, disguises herself as a boy in order to provide for her family.
The Breadwinner 2017
Lilya 4-ever
Lilya 4-ever
Lilja lives in poverty and dreams of a better life. Her mother moves to the United States and abandons her to her aunt, who neglects her. Lilja hangs out with her friends, Natasha and Volodya, who is suicidal. Desperate for money, she starts working as a prostitute, and later meets Andrei. He offers her a good job in Sweden, but when Lilja arrives her life quickly enters a downward spiral.
Lilya 4-ever 2003
Invictus
Netflix
Invictus
Newly elected President Nelson Mandela knows his nation remains racially and economically divided in the wake of apartheid. Believing he can bring his people together through the universal language of sport, Mandela rallies South Africa's rugby union team as they make their historic run to the 1995 Rugby World Cup Championship match.
Invictus 2009
The Bench
The Bench
Kaj is a stubborn man with a great deal of pride. The former chef lives in a council flat. He has wasted his life and is now on a council job training scheme for the long-term unemployed, where he refuses to let the foreman of the activation project boss him about. When Kaj's daughter, with whom he has not been in touch for nineteen years, moves into the same council estate on the run from her violent husband, a change comes over Kaj. His initial instinct is to avoid her, but by chance he ends up helping to look after Jonas, her six-year-old son. For the first time for years Kaj need not survive on his own devices. Now he has responsibilities and a family of his own.
The Bench 2000

Reviews

NekoHomey
2004/01/01

Purely Joyful Movie!

... more
Dynamixor
2004/01/02

The performances transcend the film's tropes, grounding it in characters that feel more complete than this subgenre often produces.

... more
AnhartLinkin
2004/01/03

This story has more twists and turns than a second-rate soap opera.

... more
Kayden
2004/01/04

This is a dark and sometimes deeply uncomfortable drama

... more