Winning a couple of awards at the 2010 Berlin Film Festival, this Iraqi film is a heartbreaking look at the consequence of war on the people whose sons were forced to fight in. Told through the sad eyes of a grandmother and her grandson, Ahmed, the film easily tugs at the heartstrings of viewers, who would be fairly impacted by its emotional power as felt through the strong performances of the two leads.

In the quest to find his missing father, the resourceful Ahmed and his resolute grandmother trek by foot, and hitch the occasional ride by truck across the hot, arid desert environment of Iraq, moving from one location to another to enquire about the whereabouts of the father. Twelve years were what separated the family when the father was forced to become a soldier to fight for Saddam during the war Iraq was involved in during the early 90s.

Shot in the actual Iraqi landscape during the early 2000s when the U.S. was occupying the country, Son of Babylon is like a time capsule of images of a nation devastated by an unjust war. Even though shot as if the camera is trailing these two characters as they witness and experience the effects of war, Daradji's film is not a documentary (even though it looks like one, barring a narrator) but a visual document of the humanitarian issues facing not only Iraq today, but also other nations whose civilians have been or are affected by war.

One scene in the film brings a powerful jolt to our senses: Ahmed finds himself alone in a mass grave that has been dug. He squats and sees a human skull protruding out from the soil. He moves his palm close and rests it on the skull. A layer of sand becomes stuck to his palm, and he brings it to his cheek. Is his curiously subtle action a sign of acceptance that his father is long gone and it is pointless to search anymore? A scene later shows his grandmother crying uncontrollably, and we see Ahmed trying to console her.

This "emotional maturation" of Ahmed is one of the key (albeit implicit) themes of Son of Babylon. It is significant because his character's feelings toward his father changes dramatically – from one of anger (for not being there to support him),to sadness (of his missing father),to acceptance (of his father's death). The realization of truth as harshly unchangeable is what binds people with a common loss as exemplified in the short scene between the grandmother (who speaks Kurdish) and an Arab-speaking widow, the latter being able to feel for the former's loss even though they do not understand each other.

Son of Babylon is more than a road movie about the bonding between grandmother and grandson as they search for a missing loved one. It is a humanistic story about the human cost of war. There seems to be no end to violence and destruction, no time for closure, no time to mourn the dead before another war starts.

SCORE: 8/10 (www.filmnomenon.blogspot.com) All rights reserved!

There are major events in world history which the world would rather forget. These incidents revive painful memories which cause psychological hurt and heartache. But these events also serve as important lessons in the worldly scheme of things. One such history lesson is the reign of Saddam Hussein in Iraq. While we may not be the most knowledgeable people to tell you the exact terrors which happened during the infamous Gulf War, we are urging you to watch this emotionally engaging piece of work from Iraq, simply because you, our readers, are fellow human beings like us.

And we believe that human beings have the ability to feel human emotions, hence our existence. One avenue to experience real human emotions are well made films like this.

The story is heartbreakingly simple: We follow a headstrong young boy and his persistent grandmother on their journey across Northern Iraq as they search for the boy's father, a solider who has gone missing since the Gulf War. This happens after the fall of Saddam Hussein, when people are trying to pick up fallen pieces and return to normality. Here we have two hopeful souls, a boy in search of his father and a mother in search of her son – how will their road trip end? Director Mohamed Al-Daradji handles a politically throbbing topic in this award winning film which deserves an important place in the history of international cinema. The young filmmaker approaches this piece of history with extreme sensitivity, compassion and mostly importantly, empathy, as he tells this realistic tale through the camera lens. While it would have been convenient to exploit and milk emotional sympathy (read: Hollywood),the filmmakers took care not to demean the power of cinema by thoughtfully illustrating what the reality is like for the people who suffered the aftermath of Saddam Hussein's time in power.

The film's two protagonists are played by Yasser Talib and Shazda Hussein, who deliver calmingly powerful performances that will touch the most contemptuous viewer. Talib's idealistic adamancy comes from his boyish vivacious personality, while Hussein's buoyant stubbornness is coupled with an exasperating grief which aptly complements her co-actor's performance. Your attention will be with the grandmother grandson duo throughout the film's 90 minute runtime, as they uncover the reality which ultimately spells tragedy. A supporting character in the form of a former Republican Guard (played energetically by Bashir Al-Majid) completes this capable ensemble.

Richly filled with important political messages of peace and strong representations of symbolic imageries, it is evident that this production is one made with care and deliberation. It is no wonder the film has received critical acclaim at international film festivals, with the 60th Berlinale International Film Festival awarding it with the Amnesty International Film Prize and Peace Film Award, and the Edinburgh International Film Festival giving it a special mention earlier this year. As Iraq's official entry for the Best Foreign Language Film, we are keeping our fingers crossed that the Academy will give this film's its deserved accolade at next year's Oscars.

This film is the perfect example of how human emotions are universal, regardless of language. In a gently heartrending scene in this production with Arabic and Kurdish language, a woman tells another: "I do not understand your language, but I feel your sorrow and pain." This is human connection at its best.

Also, without giving away too much here, watch out for the devastating finale, which we are declaring as one of cinema's greatest moments.

A human tale of hope of closure, this humane film is about how people arise from the ashes and pick up where circumstances left them off – a must watch for 2010, definitely.

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When we think of Iraq, we picture a war torn country which had seen the worst of a dictatorship under Saddam Hussain, where it spent many years in conflict with Iran, before the UN moved in during Desert Storm to liberate occupied Kuwait, followed by the US led invasion in Desert Storm II. Western media continue to pepper us with news that internal strife continues to this very day with news of suicide and miscellaneous bombings, and I'm sure we're more than curious to want to know about tales from within, rather than agencies from the outside that continue to paint it like a war zone. This is as close as you can go on a road trip from Northern Iraq to Baghdad, onward to Nasiriyah then Babylon.

Son of Babylon deals with the missing generation, and a mother/grandson's search for their son/father, who was taken by force years ago during the Gulf War, and hasn't been heard since. Set three weeks after the fall of Saddam Hussain, the film opens with the young boy Ahmed (brilliantly portrayed by a flute holding Yasser Taleeb) and his grandmother Um- Ibrahim (Shehzad Hussein) beginning their long quest for answers and closure, and it is through their eyes and witnessing their experiences, do we get a glimpse of just how emotionally daunting and physically challenging this quest is, amidst a stunning on location backdrop of an Iraq we never get to see, until now.

Written, directed and lensed by Mohamed Al-Daradji, his story touches on the experiences of three generations of Iraqis, as Ahmed and Um-Ibrahim come into contact with Musa (Bashir al-Majid),an ex-Republican Guard about the same age as what their son/father would be if found, and how his life got filled by the war time atrocities that he had to commit under orders. The narrative puts our trio on a never-ending search as they get bounced and referred to another city where other mass graves have been found, suggesting an inexplicable nationwide genocide that had taken place which accounted for the thousands of people who have disappeared.

The story will also open eyes to how diverse Iraq is, with language and cultural barriers from within the population as they struggle to communicate with one another (usually dismissed fairly quickly when one speaks a different language),only to share common ground in their history of grief brought about through the ravages of war. It's not all doom and gloom all the time as the film does contain some light hearted moments courtesy of Ahmed, and his significance cannot be ignored in a film that closes with a bittersweet end to suffering, and the hope placed on today's youth who have to forge their own way ahead on a long, dusty road of uncertainty. Ahmed demonstrates his street-smartness, haggling abilities and knowledge of his rights, that I think he epitomizes the spirit of the new generation who are competent in holding their own ground.

Travelling the world's various festivals, picking up a multitude of awards and being Iraq's official entry to the Academy Awards next year, this is not an easy film to sit through as it does get a little bit exasperating with the outward show of gloom that will sap your emotional energies, but to the patient viewer it rewards with its beautiful sweeping visuals of a land that most have not had a chance to see, and a poignant story on forgiveness, reconciliation and internal healing that must begin for a nation emerging from its ruins. Recommended!