Not Without My Daughter

For other uses, see Not Without My Daughter (disambiguation).

Not Without My Daughter
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Brian Gilbert
Produced by	Harry J. Ufland
Written by	Betty Mahmoody William Hoffer David W. Rintels
Starring	Sally Field Alfred Molina Sheila Rosenthal Roshan Seth Sarah Badel Mony Rey Georges Corraface
Music by	Jerry Goldsmith
Cinematography	Peter Hannan
Editing by	Terry Rawlings Ofer Bedarshi (video)
Distributed by	Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Release date(s)	January 11, 1991
Running time	116 min.
Country	United States
Language	English Persian
Budget	$22 million
Box office	$14,789,113

Not Without My Daughter is a film released in 1991 depicting the escape of American citizen Betty Mahmoody and her daughter from her husband in Iran. The film was shot in the United States and Israel, and the main characters are played by Sally Field and Alfred Molina. Sheila Rosenthal and Roshan Seth star as Mahtob Mahmoody and Houssein the smuggler, respectively.

Plot

An Iranian physician, Sayed Bozorg "Moody" Mahmoody (Molina) desires to visit his family in Iran. He wants his Iranian family to meet his wife Betty (Field) and daughter Mahtob, and asks them to come with him. After spending two weeks in Iran, Moody informs her that he has been fired from the clinic for racial reasons and wishes for them to stay in Iran. Betty says she would like to go home, but Moody becomes hostile and abusive, refusing to let her go and preventing her from leaving the house or using the telephone. Betty briefly manages to visit the American Interests Division of the Swiss Embassy, but is informed that she has automatically been stripped of her American citizenship status and is now an Iranian citizen for marrying an Iranian.

Knowing that her chances of escape are limited, Betty plays the part of devout Muslim wife to gain Moody and his family's trust. During a trip to the market, a sympathetic shopkeeper overhears her speaking with the Embassy on the telephone and puts her in contact with a friendly smuggler, Hossein (Seth), who offers Betty and Mahtob a safe passage through the Persian Gulf. Because of the Iran-Iraq war, the Gulf becomes too dangerous, so Hossein books a flight back to America for Betty and Mahtob. However, Betty receives word that her father is critically ill and may die soon. Moody, who at this time fully trusts in Betty, approves of her returning to see him, but will not let Mahtob go with her. However, Moody also books a flight for Betty a few days before the one scheduled earlier by Hossein, only to complicate things further.

Finally, on the night before Betty's flight to America, Moody receives a call from his clinic requesting him to return for emergency treatment. As this may be her last chance to escape with Mahtob, Betty feigns going out with Mahtob to get some presents for her father and meets up with Hossein and his sister. With Hossein's advice, Betty calls Moody and pretends to agree to meet him with a lawyer the next day so as to stall him. Hossein sends Betty and Mahtob off with the smugglers, and using fake IDs and documents, make their way past the checkpoints. Despite the difficult journey, in which one smuggler demands Betty's jewelery as payment and later attempts to assault her, only to be sent away by the other smuggler, Betty and Mahtob are finally dropped off in Turkey, the remaining smuggler returning their things to them as a sign of apology. Weary from the long trip, Betty and Mahtob see the American Embassy in the distance.

Cast

• Sally Field as Betty Mahmoody
• Alfred Molina as Sayed Borzog "Moody" Mahmoody
• Sheila Rosenthal as Mahtob
• Roshan Seth as Houssein the Smuggler
• Sarah Badel as Nicole
• Mony Rey as Ameh Bozorg
• Georges Corraface as Mohsen

Production

The movie was based on a book with the same title, written by Betty Mahmoody and William Hoffer and based on Betty's version of events. The screenplay was written by David W. Rintels. The film was directed by Brian Gilbert and filmed at GG Studios, Neve Ilan, Israel and in Atlanta, Georgia.^{[citation needed]}

Release

Box office

The movie debuted poorly and grossed less than $15 million in ticket sales. The movie plummeted in its second week.

Controversy and criticism

Not Without My Daughter has been criticized for its perceived misrepresentation of and bias towards Iran, Iranian Muslims and Iranian culture. Caryn James of The New York Times, in a review, states that the movie "exploits the stereotype of the demonic Iranian...it is an utter artistic failure, and its reliance on cultural stereotype is a major cause". Moody, she writes, seems to be a "pure product of his culture, a mysterious, misogynist Easterner...the film views fanaticism as the Iranian national character". A review in the Los Angeles Times described the movie as "unbalanced and distorted" which "fails to distinguish between the (Iranian) state and the people". In his review, film critic Roger Ebert noted the film made "moral and racial assertions that are deeply troubling" and that it "does not play fair with its Muslim characters. If a movie of such a vitriolic and spiteful nature were to be made in America about any other ethnic group, it would be denounced as racist and prejudiced."

In response to Not Without My Daughter, a Finnish documentary, titled Without My Daughter was made by director Alexis Kouros. It is composed of interviews with Dr. Mahmoody regarding his life in Iran and attempts to contact his daughter Mahtob. Kouros said that the intention of the 90-minute documentary was to "show the lies in the American film and present the real story behind" what turned into an acrimonious custody battle for Mahtob Mahmoody.

The movie was released to generally mixed reviews, as Sally Field was nominated for the Worst Actress, while Sheila Rosenthal won the Young Artist Award for Best Actress.

Dr. Mahmoody wrote a book, Lost Without my Daughter, published in the UK.

External links

• Not Without My Daughter at the Internet Movie Database
• Not Without My Daughter at Rotten Tomatoes
• Not Without My Daughter - History vs. Hollywood
• Not Without My Daughter clip
• A criticism of Not Without My Daughter