Heavy Metal in Baghdad (2007)

Directors Eddy Moretti and Suroosh Alvi have produced an extraordinary film, unparalleled in its attempt and success to capture a more humanistic vision of the events surrounding the Iraq War to date.

From early 2003 to late 2006, Moretti and Alvi document the struggles of Iraq's only heavy metal band, Acrassicauda (Latin for Black Scorpion) and the ever-disintegrating environment surrounding them. From Saddam Hussein’s reign, his fall and the subsequent rise of insurgents, it’s a rollercoaster ride that is as thrilling as it is unbelievable.

Featuring a subtle commentary on the effects of globalization, we see western influences in the shape of Metallica, Slayer and Slipknot and the impact they have on Iraq’s burgeoning youth culture, so beautifully echoed in the form of Acrassicauda. These symbols of free expression are idolized by the band members, and also, they claim, the source of their English. This may explain the constant and tiresome use of expletives and the word “dude”.

Handheld camera use is prevalent throughout, an apt choice that adds aesthetically and reflects the on-stage guerilla style music at the heart of the movie. The film’s most poignant moment is near its conclusion when a “rough-cut” of select moments, some shot over three years before, are replayed to the band’s members. It’s an incredibly powerful scene, one that generates on-screen emotions that underline the mind-boggling reality of the situation.