QUICK’N DIRTY: LIVE FROM THE RED SEA
The streets of Baghdad are an inhospitable and hostile environment. They are littered with garbage and debris. Large crowds of people and swathes of vehicles – mostly dilapidated cars and rickshaws – circulate constantly. This is where nine-year-old Chum-Chum (Youssef Husham Al-Thahab) lives, in company of his slightly older best friend and brother figure Moody (Hussein Raad Zuwayr). Both lost their parents in the conflicts that followed the British-American invasion of Iraq two decades earlier. Moody’s sister (Lujain Star Naimat) is of around the same age, and she works in a brothel and nightclub collecting banknotes from the floor. These people aren’t the only ones left to fend for themselves. This is an environment where children and adults alike saw their entire families killed. Everyone has been psychologically wounded, and everyone carries deep scars.
Avoiding a life of crime and degradation is virtually impossible here. A teary Moody asks his younger friend: “if you die, who’ll help me to steal?”. Chum-Chum is diabetic and the lack of readily-available insulin means that he is often flirting with death. In fact, the prospect of an early demise is often an enticing one. He realises that dreaming is safer than living, particularly when the streets of Baghdad are a nightmare. He often dreams of Gilgamesh, a hero of ancient Mesopotamian mythology, and that he will be reunited with his late parents upon crossing the legendary Irkalla gate on the Tigris River. While that doesn’t happen, Chum-Chum must seek comfort amongst the living.
The two orphans find shelter in a group of about 20 children, and well-meaning yet ill-tempered bus driver Miss Mariam. She drives the children around the city in her large and precarious vehicle, while also teaching them English and geography. She also conveys survival skills and a sense of pragmatism to them: “dreamers don’t make it in Baghdad”. Despite her efforts, the dishevelled Miss Mariam is not particularly motherly, and the children aren’t fast learners (a young boy is adamant that Mexico is in Africa). This broken family unit is Chum-Chum’s only support network.
Tempted by the prospect of certain privileges, and the possibility of raising money for an escape to the Netherlands, Moody secretly joins a balaclava-clad militia that murders street protestors. His split allegiance is certain to generate conflict with Chum-Chum and the other children. The radio announces the latest toll: “three killed and 37 wounded”. In its final half an hour, this 107-minute film combines footage of real street clashes with fictionalised film developments. While the fusion of the images isn’t entire seamless, these are some of the movie’s rawest and most emotionally-eviscerating scenes. A very symbolic and powerful – if mostly predictable – ending is also guaranteed to move you.
Boasting a extremely large team of nearly 60 animators, Irkalla: Gilgamesh’s Dream seeks into imbue some magic into impoverished Baghdad. Some images are very strong and representative of a child’s fertile imagination. The three cinematographers Nikzat Saed, Salam Salman, and Al-Daradji attempt to inject some realism into the proceedings, but these efforts are hampered by the embellishments. Downward-facing drone shots reveal a majestic city marred by poverty. However poor, the sites are impressive. Abandoned boats offer little hope: they are barely riverworthy, leaving Chum-Chum with no prospect of reaching the illusive Irkalla.
Some of the setting aren’t entirely convincing. For example, the nightclub scenes are poorly staged. Likewise with the coaching of some of the children actors. Somer of the small thespians the depth required for such a devastating story.
The backdrop and also the predicament of these children is very similar to those of Ahmed Yassin Aldaradji’s Hanging Gardens, which won the top prize at the 2nd Red Sea International Film Festival three years ago. The 2022 film also portrayed marginalised children on the streets of Baghdad resorting to peculiar survival tactics. The most significant difference is that the earlier film is a comedy (the children make money by hiring out a sex doll), while Irkalla: Gilgamesh’s Dream rests firmly on fantasy and drama territory.
Irkalla: Gilgamesh’s Dream showed in the 5th Red Sea International Film Festival.
