Kilometre Zero

Kilometre Zero (2005)

Runtime: 85 minutes

Directed by: Hiner Saleem

Starring: Nazmi Kirik, Eyam Ekrem, Belcim Bilgin, Ehmed Qeladizeni, Nezar Selami

From: Several companies

Wednesday night, I went out and saw The Godfather: Part II on the big screen; the movie is still legendary so I was happy to see it that way. Tuesday, I saw something completely different: this flick... from France, Finland and... IRAQ: 

Yes, the main reason I chose this film was that one of the production companies was from Iraq and in fact this was set and filmed in the country; that is quite the novelty from me. In addition, this focuses on the Kurdish people; I'll let the reader decide for themselves if there should be a Kurdistan made out of several existing countries or not.

The plot-set in late 80's Iraq and in the midst of the Iraq/Iran War-revolves around two stories: a family who wishes to escape the area of Iraq they live in but have to deal with their old feeble father... yeah, sort of like A Separation. The other revolves around several Kurds who are forced to join the Iraqi army and one has to go on the road to transport a fallen soldier's body home; those two plots intersect but not until the very end and we get much more of the latter than the former.

This film is only average overall; while there are some laughs and dramatic moments, tone at times is an issue and for something less than 90 minutes long, there are long dull stretches. Still, I can't complain too much about seeing this flick, as it was interesting seeing the Iraq countryside, hear the native music, see the people who live there... and the main vehicle is a sweet 1980's GMC Suburban.