Where to begin? This was one of those unintentionally hilarious documentaries, like 'Kurt 'n Courtney', or 'American Movie', that no writer is creative enough to concoct. As Kubrick said, "Reality is more inventive than human beings." This truth is continually demonstrated here.The premise is a perfect set-up for continued conflict to see a formerly-rich, conservative Islamic kid flown to the Czech Republic to help liberal Hollywood Jews (not that there's anything wrong with that) to assist with a real Hollywood film.I have a special distaste for Hollywood politics, and evidently, this guy was very comfortable biting the hand that fed him. Apart from the significant cultural divide between he and his benefactors, he was a fan of the Iraq war, for one. Um, he doesn't believe in kissing ass. He's not some poor, unsophisticated brown guy who's happy to take orders and perpetually 'play the game' to get into Hollywood.And there's something truly awesome about that.I write my own independent films, and good writing isn't easy. Getting exposure to inspired storytelling is great, but sometimes only a documentary can capture the richest poetry in life, because it's real. This documentary is a great example of that.The subject - whose name I didn't bother to look up - does have a certain charisma, a certain dignity and honesty. And yet, he squanders opportunities (whether you believe in sucking up to effete, phony Hollywood people or not), has no sense to prepare for the future, and even goes so far as to ask the star of a film he's PA'ing on (The Rock) for money for film school. He seems highly adept at humiliating himself.I don't know how much of his due to his young age, or cultural differences, or subconscious fears of failure, or because he just doesn't see the shame in that, but, miraculously, he continues to reap windfalls by virtue of having escaped the Iraq War.The film does resolve itself, which is great. It meanders a bit, but in the end, the guy has this amazing sort of confessional, which indicates he knows more than we might suspect. He's a dreamer. He doesn't believe in sucking up. He will 'make it' because he's 'true'.What's amazing about this film is: everybody at age 22 believed these things. And often they get thumped pretty good by life for such naivete. In this film, we see an honest dreamer amid phonies, suck-ups, people fearful of being real, incapable of confrontation (a producer at one point walks off, and then returns to confront him about some pretty plain wrongdoings), and really messing them up.They can't seem to understand why he isn't more grateful to them.In this way, it's a whole lot like the Iraq War. What's that they say about 'the road to hell being paved with the good intentions'?

Muthana Mohmed is a film student in Baghdad who was filmed in a segment for MTV where he shows viewers what life is like in the aftermath of the US invasion/liberation (delete according to your own politics). By chance filmmaker Liev Schreiber was in his New York flat ahead of directing his first film (Everything is Illuminated) in Prague and was watching MTV when this bit was on. Inspired by the young man, Schreber decides to invite him to work as an intern on the film. However Muthana finds himself a tad overwhelmed by the new world and perhaps doesn't perform as he should, leading him to longer term problems.The potted summaries you get of this film suggest that something extreme happens when a young Iraqi film student is offered a life line by an American star and that this event or series of events will be enough to carry the film. The truth is that nothing of the sort really happens and instead nothing particularly comes from his experience on his first film although he does manage to become a runner on another. He is a bit lazy and perhaps resists the tasks he should be doing because he feels them below him but nothing amazing happens to him. What we then get is 90 minutes following him in particular as he tries to stay out of Iraq and, as the film career of the first half fades away, the film becomes more about him and director Davenport. I want to say that I got something from it – a lesson of some sort but I didn't because it just seemed to become more and more petty and less interesting as it went on. The problem is that, without a wider theme or message, the subject is solely Muthana and he is not bad or good enough to be fascinating but rather just a bit irritating.I'll let the messages boards argue the Hitler/Jesus lines but the truth is he is neither, which is a shame because someone who is a little bit annoying and self-defeating is not the most interesting subject for a film and, although I'm sure she tried to get something, Davenport ultimately ends up with nothing to really show for her time. This shows in the very poor way that links back to Iraq are used but thankfully someone had the sense to minimise these. There is a lot of praise for this film and certainly the two-line summary of the subject makes it sound fascinating but I can assure you that, at best, this documentary is OK but gets duller as it goes on to the point where it fades away with nothing of interest or value to leave the audience with other than an apologetic note from the filmmaker that is about her, not anyone else.

A young film student gets himself on MTV expressing his feelings about his dreams of becoming a film maker being shattered by first the dictator ruling over his country of birth, Iraq, and then by US that bombed it. This show gets seen by an American film maker that wants to give him a chance of a life time and invites him to come to Prague to help and learn during a film he is making there.This documentary starts there, as the student arrives and starts helping along in the making of the film and gets introduced to all the various angles to making one. As it continues it shows the changes in the student and his surroundings and the way he deals with that.Being a typical documentary this film doesn't have any special effects whatsoever - except for the occasional ones seen when they arrive at the scene of a film that uses them. It uses a very direct and personal approach and the maker of the documentary herself gets fairly involved with the person she is filming and that makes it very close but also very nice to watch. It's a bit like reading some ones personal diary but with them standing right next to you and commenting on what you are reading.It is easy to judge the film student but for me that isn't the point of a film review. As a documentary I can rate this fairly highly as it uses an interesting approach that keeps one bound to the chair during its full length.8 out of 10 film makers interrogated

In this unique documentary, an Iraqi teenager named Muthana is flown from Baghdad to Prague to participate in the filming of "Everything is Illuminated", a film directed by Liev Schreiber. Muthana had been showcased on MTV as an aspiring filmmaker, and Schreiber saw an opportunity to help him out by allowing him to participate in the film-making process, hoping that Muthana would pick up the skills that would help him realise his ambition. Documentary filmmaker Nina Davenport was there to film his experience, probably hoping to capture an inspiring story of the dreams of a disadvantaged youth coming to life. What in fact happened in front of the cameras was a fascinating tale of shattered expectations, disillusionment, cultural divide, pride, denial, bureaucracy and incredible generosity that can only be described as "real life". One of the subjects of the film sums it up best in saying "what the f**k did you think was going to happen?".As you may have guessed, Muthana didn't fit the producers' idealised image of a boy with a dream and the perseverance and ambition to achieve it when given the chance. It's not that he was, for lack of a better word, bad; he wasn't violent, unsociable, or hateful; he was just an average somewhat apathetic teenager, with the typical misconceptions about how the world works. However, he was facing the inordinate dilemma of whether or not he should return to Baghdad. His father was shown on video categorically telling him not to return, as he was given the chance to start a better life. However, staying in the Czech Republic was not a viable option either, as renewing his visa was becoming increasingly problematic, and he didn't speak the local language. Davenport followed Muthana with her camera long after shooting wrapped on "Everything is Illuminated", chronicling his work as a production assistant for "Doom", which was also filmed in Prague, during which Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson becomes an integral part of the documentary. She continues filming him through his attempts to emigrate to the US and the UK, becoming increasingly less of an observer, and more of a subject of the documentary herself.I won't reveal any more of Muthana's fascinating story, which remains unsettlingly real despite growing increasingly farcical throughout the film. Many moments are quite comical, with the audience oftentimes laughing at the characters, rather than with them. At times it even borders on being exploitative, but it's difficult to call it that given the generosity of Davenport toward Muthana.The film provokes a number of questions from the audience, especially regarding Muthana. Was he too proud? Plain lazy? Not as passionate about film-making as people thought? Or was the cultural barrier just too big? Did they just pick the wrong kid? Are those of us in developed countries too presumptuous, ignorant, or disillusioned about the youth in third-world countries? Are they any different from the youth in developed countries, all negative aspects included? Furthermore, the war in Iraq plays a crucial role, with news broadcasts on the war along with footage filmed by Muthana's friends in Baghdad interspersed throughout the film. While it may seem that Davenport was trying to make a statement on the war, the footage is quite pertinent to Muthana's story, and serves primarily as a commentary on how the war is perceived by the different characters. Some of the comments on the war made by Muthana and other Iraqis affected by it are particularly fascinating.Overall I was very impressed by the film, and I was lucky enough to see it during the 2007 Sydney Film Festival. Though as a disclaimer, I must say that I found it much more easy to relate to than most people would, having grown up as a third-culture kid, living in Prague for over 7 years when I was a teenager, and experiencing first-hand the difficulties of the immigration process in numerous countries. But on the other hand, I think anyone will find a lot they can relate to in this wonderful documentary.