Mosul movie on Netflix is ​​causing a big controversy in Iraq

The movie "Mosul", shown by the Netflix platform, sparked controversy in the Iraqi street, due to the nature of its discussion of the battles that took place in the city between the Iraqi forces and the Islamic State between 2016 and 2017, prompting some of the film makers to respond to that and clarify the difficulties they faced while filming it.

A group of actors mediated by the Iraqi dialect trainer Abbas Abdul-Ghani (Al-Jazeera)

The plot of the movie

The producers of the movie "Mosul" relied on an article published in the American New Yorker newspaper in 2017, entitled "Desperate War to Destroy ISIS," which dealt with the story of a group of the Rapid Intervention Squad (SWAT) in Nineveh Governorate that fought in its war against the organization that took over On Mosul between 2014 and 2017.

The film's executive producer, Muhammad al-Darraji, says that making an Iraqi movie about Mosul of this magnitude is an achievement for the Iraqis, especially as it was produced by well-known and well-known international companies in the world, which put Iraq on the map of commercial cinematography.

Al-Darraji added - in an exclusive interview with Al-Jazeera Net - that Iraq has never participated in an international film of this magnitude, especially since the film delivered part of what happened in Mosul to international cinema goers with a budget of more than $ 15 million.

As for the plot, Darraji confirms that the criticism of the film was not accurate, as it was not a true reflection of what happened in the battle of Mosul, and a movie of 90 minutes could not convey what happened for months in the battles of the ancient city of Mosul that lasted 5 months, explaining that he He told the story of a group of Iraqi police fighters who fought against ISIS in 5 streets inside the Old City, for only 3 hours.

He pointed out that this means that the film is not a documentary, but rather a narration of what happened to the heroes of the film, according to a specific story developed by its writer and director, and an attempt was made to show Iraqis heroes for the sake of liberating their city and their families in a way that simulates the human spirit of Iraqis.

Mansi saw that the Iraqi spirit was absent from the film (Al-Jazeera)

The absence of the Iraqi spirituality

As for the Iraqi screenwriter, Salah Mansi, for his part, he believes that the script for the Mosul movie was a simulation of the way the American films were written with the introduction of the Iraqi story, revealing that this was wrong in the absence of Iraqi spirituality in the film.

Mansi criticizes - in his speech to Al-Jazeera Net - the Western narrative way of communicating between the actors during the events of the film, without being an impression of the Iraqi character, and the slaughter of the Nineveh Swat force of some of the ISIS members was not logical, in addition to the fact that the spirit of the Iraqi officer was not Found.

Mansi elaborates in his criticism to refer to the scene of the Iraqi forces taking a break in an abandoned house, and to their filming that they were watching a Gulf series on television, and he asked how it was possible for them to do so and there was no electricity in the old city of Mosul, in addition to the fact that ISIS had confiscated satellite broadcast receivers. Since he took control of the city.

For his part, Abbas Abdul-Ghani - who is one of the filmmakers and trainer of the Iraqi dialect in it - points out that the film did not address the battle to liberate Mosul, but rather narrated a special case of a group of Swat forces that tried to liberate their families during the battles after deviating from the orders of the military commanders.

Abdel-Ghani (left) confirmed that the Iraqi representatives did not obtain entry visas to Morocco (Al-Jazeera)

Drawbacks to dialect

Although the film was produced in the Iraqi dialect, many viewers found it difficult to understand the speech, which Abdul-Ghani attributes to the fact that the director Matthew Michel Carnahan formed a cast of Iraqis, but they were not able to reach the filming locations in Morocco because they were not granted a visa. Entry (Visa).

Abdul Ghani - who lives in Morocco and comes from the city of Mosul and is contracted with the ICPO International Company for Production - explained that the Iraqi actor Suhail Dabaj, who played a major role through the character of Major Jassem, has American nationality, pointing out that the director tried hard to bring the well-known Iraqi actor Jawad Al-Shakurji, except Not granting him a visa prevented that.

Regarding the dialect used in the film, Abdul Ghani confirmed - in his speech to Al Jazeera Net - that it was a mediator between Al-Baghdadiya and Mosul, and that he faced great difficulties in training the actors in the difficult Iraqi dialect, pointing out that the training of the Tunisian actor who played the role of the Kurdish fighter Kawa continued. Two weeks, at a rate of 10 hours a day.

The well-known Iraqi actor, Jawad Al-Shukraji, who was a candidate to participate in the film, revealed to Al-Jazeera Net that he was unable to obtain a visa to enter Morocco, which prevented him and the rest of his Iraqi colleagues from participating in the film.

Muhammad Salem considered that the involvement of Swat Nineveh forces in the film was not successful (Al-Jazeera)

What it has and what it is

There are many shortcomings that were recorded on the film, as the filmmaker and director Ali Omar believes that, objectively, the film was commercial, and he is not reliable in communicating what happened in Mosul.

Omar said - in his interview with Al-Jazeera Net - that the introduction of the film indicated that it relied on an article in an American newspaper, but the truth is that Swat Nineveh forces did not originally participate in the old Mosul liberation battles, and that the Iraqi army's anti-terrorism apparatus had a greater role in that.

He indicates that the Iraqi Popular Mobilization Forces did not primarily participate in the liberation of the city of Mosul, and its operations were limited to the vicinity of the city during the military operations, pointing out that Netflix tried to pass political messages in this regard.

Not only that, but Omar adds that the observer did not see the identity of Mosul in it, and the film could have been called the names of many cities that were controlled by the organization, such as the Syrian Raqqa and the Libyan Sirte, concluding that Netflix put the name of Mosul for marketing purposes as it is considered the greatest street war battle in the modern era.

As for directing, he confirms that there are many directing errors, especially with regard to the arrest of policeman Kawa and his friend on drug traffickers, as it is illogical for the forces to search for drugs in the midst of a fierce battle, attributing that to the director Matthew Cranham in his first directorial experience, which is What caused these problems, some of which were described as naive.

As for the war correspondent from Mosul, Muhammad Salem, he saw that the involvement of Swat Nineveh forces in the film was not successful, stressing that those who participated in the liberation of Old Mosul are only the Anti-Terrorism Service and the Rapid Response Forces of the Iraqi army.

Salem - who accompanied the counterterrorism forces during the old battles of Mosul - criticized the absence of the suffering of civilians there, as well as that the film did not simulate the narrow alleys of the city that are not suitable for the Humvees to enter the military wheels.

He added in his interview with Al-Jazeera Net that showing the Humvee wheels moving freely inside the old Mosul is wrong, as the area was completely mined, and Iraqi forces would take hours to move from one house to another on foot.

This is what the Iraqi film critic Alaa Al-Mafraji supports in his speech to Al-Jazeera Net, where he believes that there are mistakes represented in the fact that the Iraqi forces were not tasked with liberating the families of their affiliates, pointing out that the film showed the Swat Nineveh forces as roaming freely without supervision or from the Central Operations Command Which showed the battle for Mosul as random.

Al-Mafraji said that Mosul is the first Hollywood movie in which the Arab is a war hero and not a savage as usual (Al-Jazeera)

Pluses

As for the positives, Al-Mafraji believes that the elements of great success were available for the film, especially that it was produced by the Russo brothers, who are two of the most brilliant names in Hollywood, where they produced the movie "Avengers: Endgame", which won record returns, adding that Hollywood exited On the stereotype of portraying the Arab as a savage, and this is the first film in which an Arab and an Iraqi appear as a war hero.

Returning to Abdul-Ghani, he confirms that the film is considered Iraqi par excellence, and that the film crews were the best in the world, especially with regard to visual and sound effects, and that the director of filming, Mar Fiore, is the same director of filming for the Oscar-winning "Avatar" movie, as well as The grand simulation of old Mosul alleys.

As for Ali Omar, he believes that the film, regardless of the notes, is the first film produced in the Iraqi dialect in an international way, as well as that the production and visual effects were very elaborate, and that the Hollywood prints were clear.

Societal fallacies

There are many mistakes that the Iraqis raised in the film, as screenwriter Salah Mansi believes that making the problem and integrating it into the knot and the solution is American par excellence, especially since the way Iraqis deal with problems, especially during the war, is radically different.

He adds that Iraqi norms are absent from the film, as the last scene when the fighter stormed his house and killed one of the organization's members included a social error that the film did not observe, as Iraqi custom prevents Amir's colleagues from staying in the same room where he embraced his wife and told him that she was pregnant from a fighter in the organization In front of his colleagues.

In response to all the observations and errors raised on the film, its executive producer, Muhammad al-Darraji, confirms that its production in Arabic and the Iraqi dialect was a very big risk, especially for a company like Netflix, adding that any movie of 90 minutes could not explain the circumstances of the battle of Mosul and how the organization controlled the city, Stressing that what happened in highlighting the role of Swat Nineveh only does not mean canceling the role of the rest of the liberated Iraqi forces.

He considered that the focus on Swat Nineveh's departure from orders was for a dramatic necessity, adding that the absence of many details does not mean a flaw in the film's dramatic plot, especially as it did not address the reasons for the fall of Mosul to the hands of ISIS.