.

To displace a conventional view of Iraq,

Mark Cousins creates a documentary in

the style of magical realism. War is on

the edge but intermingled with the

crunch of juicy pomegranate seeds,

the flow of sheep through open fields

and the dreams of children. He gives

the children of Goptapa their first

taste of cinema, projected across bed

sheets that waft in the open night air.

It is the first time that film has been

seen there. He shares a lyrical view of

their village in spite of its history; a

town that was gassed in a series of

genocidal attacks from 1986 to 1989.

The children speak of 1988 as The Anfal,

and reminisce about its chemical rain;

many died. And yet, Cousins portrays

this village with undying beauty, its

pearly light and orange palm trees,

birds perched on cacti that foreground

a war-ravaged horizon.

Overlaid against Cousins' thesis is

the magical flight of little Mohammed,

his dream of flying over Goptapa, and

equally airborne is his plea to all of

Goptapa's children, and perhaps to

endless youth everywhere, that

imagination can counter war.

The First Movie