'American Sniper' plays in Iraq to mixed reaction

The Global Post (an excellent news site for foreign affairs) has an update on the reaction in Baghdad to the hit movie, “American Sniper.”

The latest is that an upscale, popular mall in the capital city shut down its showings of the war film, apparently because the violence against Muslims was viewed as offensive to some.

The Global Post reports that moviegoers in the crowd were engrossed by the film, with some shouting out, “Shoot him,” in the opening scene featuring a child suspected of impending terrorism.

At a recent showing, some in the crowd screamed, “F*ck, shoot him! He has an IED, don’t wait for permission!” one Iraqi told the Post, chuckling while recalling the heated reaction.

Others reacted to the scene differently.

“The sniper, he has a chance to hit the child and his mother in their foot or anywhere without killing them, but he didn’t because he’s bloodthirsty like all the American troops,” one Iraqi said. Yet, he added that he has seen the movie three times: twice at a theater and again at a friend’s house.

The film, set during the US-led occupation of Iraq and released on Christmas Day, generated a surprisingly strong political reaction in the United States, with conservatives praising sniper Chris Kyle as a hero and liberals condemning the film for a perceived glorification of the Iraq War.

The intensity of the movie, which tells the story of Kyle, the top US Navy SEAL sniper, played by Bradley Cooper, generated sellout crowds in Baghdad before the mall ended its run.

The Post also interviewed an Iraqi filmmaker, who gave the film a thumbs-down.

“There is no American films (about Iraq) — and I saw a lot of them — that have given justice to the Iraqi people and the events that happened in Iraq,” said Mohamed Al-Daradji. “I sort of understand why not, because when an American filmmaker and an American company make a film they think about it from the American point of view, they don’t care about Iraq, they care about themselves. 
“That’s why we Iraqi filmmakers have to make films about Iraqi people.”