Catching ‘Crocodile Dundee’ in Baghdad
Posted: Friday, October 17, 2008 1:21 PM
Filed Under:
Baghdad, Iraq
By NBC News’ Karim Hilmi
Karim Hilmi, an Iraqi citizen, works in NBC News' Baghdad bureau and has a great passion for cinema.
BAGHDAD – I didn’t expect to see many people at the al-Khayam Cinema in downtown Baghdad when I went to see a movie on a recent afternoon.
Some were alone, just like me, some were with friends and a young couple on a date was chatting, laughing and eating popcorn.
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| Karim Hilmi / NBC News |
| Movie posters featuring some of the movie hits of the 80s and 90s are on display at the al-Khayam Cinema in downtown Bagdad. |
I felt relieved and happy to see Iraqis going to the movies again – like they used to almost 20 years ago.
Economic sanctions were placed on Iraq in 1990, after Saddam Hussein invaded Kuwait. It banned all foreign imports except some food and medicine – making daily life incredibly difficult and essentially eliminating any chance of escaping reality at the movies.
Making matters worse, for the past five years, since Saddam’s regime was ousted in 2003, religious fanatics and extremists have controlled almost all of Baghdad’s neighborhoods, enforcing a ban on art in general. Painting, sculpture, music, singing, plays and showing movies were all taboos.
Many artists, actors and singers were killed, kidnapped, tortured, displaced or forced to change their professions. Some art galleries were bombed by extremists.
But now, since the U.S. military surge has increased security in Baghdad, four movie theaters and three live drama theaters have re-opened and many actors, directors, singers, and painters have returned to the country.
Scared by ‘Poltergeist’ now instead of insurgents
The ban on most movies over the past 18 years was a particular annoyance to me since I’ve been a big fan all my life. I have a large library of films at home on both VHS and DVD.
Back in the 1970s, before the Iraq-Iran war dominated life from 1980-1988, (I’m admitting my age here) I would go to movies as many as three times a day.
But in recent years, as the religious extremists dominated daily life, I never dared to speak about movies with friends at our neighborhood café. At home, the TV could be tuned to everything from movies to music shows, to news or religious programs, but going to the movies was not part of public life.
Hashim Mohammed, 66, the manager of the al-Khayam Cinema, said that the improvement in the security situation in Baghdad at the beginning of 2008 encouraged him to reopen. He said it was a tough decision and risky move because Baghdad is not completely secure. Now the theater shows three or four different movies twice a day.
"Business is good – meaning we can make a living," he explained. "Now I am able to pay for my employees, power and doing some minor maintenance in the theater. But the profit is marginal and not something big." The price of a ticket is about $2.50.
On the day I went to the movies, three hits from the 1980s were on offer – "Poltergeist," "Crocodile Dundee," and "The Untouchables."
Mohammed explained how the security situation has gradually improved and made business feasible. "The fanatics used to send us threat messages, ordering us to close. And in case one didn't obey, they said they would kill and kidnap you," he said. "Now, the security is good and we open only between 10 a.m. to 4. p.m. My neighborhood, where my movie theatre is, is safe and the employees search the spectators."
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| Karim Hilmi / NBC News |
| The interior of the al-Khayam Cinema may be bare bones, but the films take Iraqi viewers far away from Baghdad. |
‘Americans are the greatest in show biz’
Sa'ad Jassim, 41, an official in a private bank in Baghdad, explained that the draw was two-fold – part wistful remembrance of good times past and a chance to take advantage of the new security gains.
"You see, any human being has this nostalgia. I have seen these films shown now in the Khayam movie theater on CDs and DVDs, but I like very much to come just to remember good old days," Jassim said. "Most neighborhoods in Baghdad are safe now, so we need to enjoy ourselves, which we were deprived of doing during the past five years."
In terms of the movies shown at that theater, Mohammed explained that American movies have always been popular with Iraqis – ever since the first theater opened in Baghdad almost 100 years ago. (At its peak, there were as many as 50 movie theaters in the city.)
"Iraqis love Westerns, we call them cowboy movies, and science fiction movies like ‘Flash Gordon,’" he said. "’Spartacus’ was run for six consecutive months in our movie theater. I personally like cowboy movies. But we have no regular and organized program, you see now we are showing three movies at one time and they are all from the 1980s."
Jassim agreed with Mohammed’s assessment of Iraqis cinematic tastes. "American films are my favorite since my childhood. You know Americans are the greatest in show biz, their movies are magnificent. I like westerns, musicals, action, mob and historical movies. That diversity is what makes those guys awesome.
A ‘lovely adventure’
While I was waiting for one of the movies to start, I started chatting with another movie-goer who happened to have a degree in cinematography. I told him how astonished I was to see so many people in the cinema. He said he was also was surprised.
"But it was an adventure one had to take, and it turned to be a lovely one," he said.
I couldn’t help but agree because although many security gains have been made, Baghdad is still not 100 percent safe. People all over the world can go to the movies easily, but in Iraq, we still have to consider basic security issues every time we walk out the door.
''Yes, yes, it is such a lovely adventure after so many years,'' I said, and we both laughed loudly.
