Winner of the Golden Yusr for Best Feature Film and Best Cinematography in Red Sea International Film Festival (which was accompanied by a hefty $100,000 prize), Ahmed Yassin Al Daradji's movie focuses on two kids for the most part, in a way, though, that is as far away from a children's movie as possible, essentially highlighting life in Iraq in the most eloquent fashion.
Taha (28) and his younger brother As'ad (12) scrape a living searching for discarded metals and plastics at the vast, stinking Baghdad rubbish dump, ironically named for the legendary Hanging Gardens of Babylon. Then one day, As'ad discovers an American sex doll. When he brings the taboo item home and presents her as a thing of beauty, Taha assaults his little brother for ruining their reputation. As'ad retreats to Hanging Gardens to make a new home for himself and his miraculous find, ending up inside an abandoned military armed vehicle. When his “friend” Amir (14), whom As'ad owes money from the selling of sex magazine pages, finds out about the doll, suggests to him to pimp the doll to the people of the area, a scheme which surpsingly, is a total success. As'ad, however, looks at the doll as something more than a sex object, while the local crime lord and his henchmen eventually take notice of the scheme and are not particularly happy about it.
Ahmed Yassin Al Daradji creates a film that retains an excellent balance between a coming-of-age movie and a commentary about life in present Iraq, all the while entertaining his audience through both humor and drama. Evidently, the concept of the two young ‘pimps' of a sex doll is what sets the story apart through its uniqueness, but this is just the top of the iceberg of a rather layered narrative that “hides” many of its comments inside its details.
In that fashion, the rubbish dump in Baghdad is the first of these elements, as apart from sexual objects, is also the place where dead bodies are dumped, not to mention war equipment. Taha longs for his neighbor next door, but does not find the courage to go talk to her or her parents, in a comment that shows how difficult relationships are in such a setting as much as where sexual frustration leads people, with the whole scheme of the sex doll also moving towards the same direction. The role of the “broker” who buys the plastic and metal adds another aspect in the presentation of the current setting in Iraq, with Al Daradji showing him as a con man who even tries to take on his side the people who realize what he is up to. The local crime lord and the way he rules the city, also because he is one of the few “employers” there, concludes this aspect, with him and his goons having the role of the villain here, as their despicable ways are highlighted repeatedly. Lastly, the whole appearance of the sex doll, with its US characteristics and clothes, and oversized boobs, and the way it impacts local society and the two protagonists, could be perceived as a metaphor for the role of the US in the area.
At the same time, the relationship of Amir and As'ad is also used as a medium for a variety of comments, with the way these children have to grow up being the main one, and friendship, love, sex, and grief following closely behind. Considering all the aforementioned, the movie could go either towards a comedic path that focuses on the sex doll or an intense drama that focuses on the circumstances in the area. However, Al Daradji manages to present a movie that is both in equal measure, with one aspect bouncing off the other in the most entertaining and meaningful fashion, benefitting the most also by the excellent script, in another impressive balance here.
Al Daradji cast his young actors and gathered the supporting crew from the neighborhood where he grew up and the result is quite good, with their acting adding much to the originality and realism of the movie. Hussain Muhammad Jalil as the sensitive As'ad is the definite protagonist, but Akram Mazen Ali as Amir steals the show on occasion with his “tough guy” demeanor, with the antithetical chemistry of the two actors being one of the movie's best traits. Wissam Diyaa as Taha is also good, particularly in the way he portrays his frustration, although his role could have been bigger, in probably the most significant issue of the movie.
DP Duraid Munajim's cinematography is another of the movie's best traits, with the way the various aspects of the area is presented being truly astonishing on occasion, and the fires of the finale closing the whole thing in the most memorable way. Kamal El Mallakh's editing results in a fitting mid-tempo, with the moments it picks up allowing Al Daradji to stress the more.
“Hanging Gardens” is an excellent film that benefits the most from the story, direction and cinematography, as much as a truly original and meaningful main concept.
