Leaving Baghdad

Plot Summary

Leaving Baghdad is a road movie, following the lonely struggle of an Iraqi man, Sadik, trying to escape the hell of Saddam Hussein's Iraq. He finds himself in more torment as he traverses country to country, ending up in Hungary - passed on from one smuggler to the next. Hoping to join his estranged wife in London, Sadik finds himself suffering nightmares as he recalls how he was forced to change his occupation from wedding cameraman, to filming the violence and executions perpetrated by the regime. Sadik does find some solace in his letters addressed to his son, who, as we find out gradually, did not share his father's enthusiasm for the regime and therefore he and his family had to suffer dire consequences. Having believed he had escaped from the omnipresence of his country's ruthless dictator, Sadik soon discovers that "Saddam's assassin" is still on his trail, with his past and guilt haunting and tormenting him as much as the secret service. Will Sadik get to his destination? What is it that he tries to escape from Saddam's grip, his nightmares, his own guilt? And was leaving Baghdad worth his struggle?