LE MONDE’S OPINION – MUST SEE
Even devotees of artistic expression, who firmly believe that form takes precedence over content, must acknowledge that an exceptional, powerful narrative and edifying content, brushes everything else aside. To be clear, the focus is less on the approach of Halkawt Mustafa – an Iraqi-Kurdish director living in Norway – as on a truth that poses a problem for someone wishing to depict it.
So let’s suppose that Mustafa set out one day to meet the man who hid Saddam Hussein (1937-2006) in his yard, and then proceeded, somewhat televisually, to interweave his character’s testimony with what can only be a somewhat sketchy reconstruction of the events recounted.
Alaa Namiq is a kindly farmer from a village on the banks of the Tigris, who one fine morning saw Hussein suddenly appear in his yard. Hot on his trail were 150,000 ill-intentioned American soldiers. Namiq – a simple man who regarded Hussein as a sort of demigod and who also exemplifies the sacrosanct principle of Middle Eastern hospitality – was particularly welcoming when he saw Saddam was not at his best. Three armed men accompanied him, but he had lost much of his aura, and it was clear that he didn’t have a single weapon of mass destruction in his jacket.
Budding friendship
Namiq intended spending the night in the forest with Saddam, so that that the leader could get some rest before crossing to the other side of the river, where his supporters had remained loyal to him. But it was already proving too dangerous and Namiq instead invited Saddam to stay at his place, and in case of alarm to hide in the small bunker he’d dug in his yard. Saddam, who clearly had little option, complied.
In a most natural way, Namiq tells the story of their cohabitation, of the baths they took together and their budding friendship. He recounts their mutual grief when the news of the death of Saddam’s two sons was made public. A compassionate soul, he even went so far as to tell Saddam that he was now his son. Nevertheless, it was clear that the deposed ruler, shut away all day in his friend’s house, with nothing to do, was falling apart, despite the sheets of paper he daily covered with his reconquest plans.
All the while, the Americans, whom Namiq disliked, were not letting up. They combed the area and put a $25 million bounty on Saddam’s head. Someone obviously had tipped them off when on December 13, 2003, they arrived at Namiq’s home. The two men had spent 235 days together. Namiq had received a president but saw a friend leave. Of course, we would have liked to know more about who Namiq was before they met and what became of him after, but the film doesn’t say.
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