Does Everyone in Iraq YELL ALL THE TIME?!

As much as I support this movie, I have to agree that one area the film fails is in the execution of the dialogue.

To answer your question directly, Iraqis (in this case, more accurately, Kurds) do not yell all the time. Conversations are not 97% yelling. And the place is not ripe with confusion, it is ripe with war and big business.

My best educated guess is that there aren't many Kurdish movies, rather, there are more Kurdish plays, most of which are outdoors and the actors must yell to be heard. This has unfortunately continued in film. Keep in mind that these children have never been to acting school. They act based on the plays that they have seen. I found it rather distracting when words like "at your service" and "hello" were being yelled rather than spoken.

As for the other scenes, when one kid is calling on fifty other kids while standing on top of a tank, then yes he will have to yell.

I hope this clarifies it for you a little.



Jimmy Ringo

"Most of our suspicions of others are aroused by our knowledge of ourselves."

I have lived there.

People certainly have their "inside voice" and their "outside voice".

It's possible for them to speak quietly. We even see some examples of that in this film, where people use their "inside voice". But mostly, it has developed culturally that you get airtime in a conversation by being the one who dominates it, and most people there do that by shouting; it's a simple and effective to dominate, but not very effective in producing a good conversation.

Several sounds in the arabic, farsi, urdu and kurdish languages are made deep in the throat. When you shout these, your throat hurts. Ever noticed how middle easterners often have a raspy or hoarse voice? They have been shouting difficult throat sounds since they were kids.

It's interesting how culture forms us and everything around us. You'll never see a Jane Austen book or movie about kids shouting and scrabbling in a war zone. And you'll never see a middle eastern film about the genteel concerns of the working class. But there but for the grace of god go we all. Hug your kids. Educate your kids. Stand up against corruption instead of playing that game. Vote.

"Spock! Form an away team! You, me, Bones, Scotty and umm... Ensign Smith!"