Not Without My Daughter poster & wallpaper

Alfred Molina, Mony Rey, Roshan Seth

The Arab anti-defamation leagues understandably had a field day with this one. Sally Field plays Betty Mahmoody, an American who marries an Iranian (Alfred Molina) and has a child. They go back to Ira...( read more  read more... )n for a visit and, to her horror, he tells her he's decided to stay there. If she wants to leave, she must leave her daughter behind. If she stays, Betty must live in a culture vastly different and, she believes, very dangerous. Part thriller, part culture clash, the film certainly takes advantage of Americans' perceptions of Iran after the unrest of the '70s and early '80s. Molina is truly despicable as the husband, while Field projects a lot of overheated anguish as Betty tries to figure out a way to escape the country with her daughter. Overheated, in fact, is the word for the whole melodrama. --Marshall Fine

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73% liked it

12,319 ratings

PG-13, 107 min.

Directed by: Brian Gilbert

Release Date: January 11, 1991

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DVD Release Date: October 2, 2001

Stats: 657 reviews

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Flixster Reviews (657)

  • StaisilD
    March 4, 2008
    StaisilD
    Our story begins in Alpena, Michigan, 1984. Betty Mahmoody lived happily with her husband Moody and their daughter Mahtob. Moody is from Iran. He came to America 20 years ago and works as a doctor at the hospital. Unfortunately, many fellow doctors made cracks about Iranians righ...( read more)t in front of him. Moody truly missed his family and his country. Members of his family, Mammal and Nasserine, just had a baby boy. Moody wanted to go see them and he wanted to bring Betty and Mahtob with him. Betty was very reluctant to go to Iran because it was such a wartorn, oppressive, primitive and dangerous country, but Moody swore--on the Holy Koran, that everything would be alright and they would return in 2 weeks tops. Betty agreed and so the family boards a plane to Iran. Little did Betty know that she had just boarded a one-way flight to Hell; Moody's family was waiting to greet them. There was Moody's sister, Ameh Bozorg, and Mammal, Nasserine, Zia, Fereshte, Zoreh, Reza, and Baby Hajji. Downtown Tehran was a very strange place: posters of the Ayatollah everywhere, military personnel patrolling the streets and all women wore head coverings. Betty had to wear one too. They stay in Ameh Bozorg's house, but she seemed to hold a grudge towards Moody for an unknown reason; Two weeks quickly passed and Betty was eager to return to America, but then Moody dropped a bomb shell. Two actually: first, he was fired from the hospital and second, he said they were not going back and that they were to stay and live in Iran. He wanted Mahtob to become a Muslim. Betty was shocked beyond comprehension. Moody had made up his mind and forced his wife and daughter to stay. Seven months later after Mahtob's 6th birthday, Betty learns her father is very ill and so Moody grants her permission to go home to the U.S. to see him. The bad news: Mahtob had to stay in Iran. Meanwhile, Hamid arranged travel for Betty on the 29th, but Moody booked Betty a flight for the 26th. And so as soon as Betty and Mahtob could get away, they phoned Hamid and begged him to move back the date. So he did. That night, they began their dangerous, treacherous journey out of Iran and to Turkey. First Betty called Moody and told him where to stick it, then they drive with Hamid's friends out of town and through checkpoints. They had to switch cars numerous times and eventually make it out to the desert. The dry lands. The treacherous mountains. But finally, after a very long, dangerous, windy, stormy journey, Betty and Mahtob find themselves back in civilization. Next stop: The U.S. Embassy. That's when Betty sees the most beautiful sight she had seen in a very long time: The American flag. Finally, it was all over. They were going home. February, 1986, Betty and Mahtob return home.
  • YosemiteSamFan
    July 16, 2007
    YosemiteSamFan
    A depressing but courageous movie. It made me dislike those cultural beliefs even more.
  • LauralyBeautiful
    June 12, 2007
    LauralyBeautiful
    A co-worker had told me about this after she saw me reading a book called "Out of Iran" by Sousan Azadi. The two are drastically different, this being an American who goes with her husband to Iran, then can't get home, and the book I was reading was about an Iranian woman who fl...( read more)ees to the US with her son because their lives are in danger.

    Anyway, I have to say that this was unfortunately boring, especially given my high hopes for it. I regret to say I didn't watch the entire thing exactly for that reason... I was tired, and I wasnt interested enough to miss out on an extra hours sleep. (Hey, I have a month old son--my priorities are rearranged now!)

    I also didn't like how Sally Field calls Iran primitive--was there actually a reason for that other than to get Americans puffed up with patriotism? To say something is different, foreign, strange, that is one thing, but to call it primitive... how can you expect tolerance when you can't tolerate someone else?

    Anyway, the Flisxter synopsis sums this up nicely when it calls it a melodrama. I'm not surprised, then, to see the ratio of female flixterites liked this more (not much, but still) than the males on here.
  • dreamfaeries
    March 5, 2007
    dreamfaeries
    Very well done, intelligent film.
  • brandonmachew
    September 19, 2006
    brandonmachew
    The story of Betty Mahmoody and her journey to freedom from Iran.
  • blueicefem
    October 18, 2009
    blueicefem
    I hated it. I hated it so much for what was happening there. Wonderful movie, but i can't stand to see it once more... I hated that violence and the sensation of deja vu it caused me.
  • twraiderfan
    October 12, 2009
    twraiderfan
    great movie..sally field should of won a oscar
  • GreenGoblin92
    September 29, 2009
    GreenGoblin92
    Had good scenes, but the ending was too long and anti-climactic.
  • sweetteeps
    September 20, 2009
    sweetteeps
    hi how can i watch a movie here plzzz?
  • Artsywoman29
    September 5, 2009
    Artsywoman29
    Sally Field is a great actress. This movie is about a woman who marries a man from Iran and has a child. She goes to his country with him only to then discover he doesn't plan to leave it. He says she can leave if she wants but can not take her daughter so She is then forced to...( read more) find a way to break free of him and get out of a dangerous country with her daughter. Good movie, but also very slow paced. It is worth watching though.

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Comments

  • garlfield16
    November 28, 2007
    garlfield16
    i watched the movie many times and i dont seem to get tired of ir. it touches my heart deeply, like no other movies did. It's a supah movie!!!
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Not Without My Daughter Trivia

  • In what movie does Sally Field end up a prisoner in a strange country by her own husband - based on true events?  Answer »
  • Which movie tells the story of a mother and child trying to escape from Iran?  Answer »
  • In the movie "Not without my Daughter" The daughter of Betty & Moody Mahmoody, was named Mahtob. What was the meaning of her name in Farsi?  Answer »
  • what actress would you find in the movies, Legally bonde 2, Mrs doubtfire, not without my daughter, stay hungry and eye for an eye?  Answer »
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