Nice Bombs

Nice Bombs is an attention-grabbing documentary film, released in 2006, that is both brave and insightful at its core. This film has been depicted artistically by talented filmmaker Usama Alshaibi, an Iraqi-American, who has beautifully encapsulated his personal journey to his homeland Iraq post US invasion in 2003.

The movie strives to bring out a humane perspective amidst a war-stricken environment. It straddles between two worlds, two cultures and two perspectives, making the audience wonder about the cost of war, cultural divides, human suffering, and how politics shapes life.

This feature begins with Alshaibi and his wife, Kristie, taking a daring journey back to Baghdad to rekindle ties with his family after more than two decades. The trip was new territory for Kristie while it was a heart-wrenching, nostalgia-infused journey for Usama. Usama's return to Iraq was twofold: to understand how his people were faring during the war and to get a sense of how the country has changed and the experiences they have been through..

In Nice Bombs, Alshaibi deftly uses his personal history, interactions and experiences to delineate a human-centric perspective of what Iraq has become after the invasion by American troops. It gives viewers a first-hand and far more intimate view on what it's like living in a country rebuilt by war from the perspective of its native people, rather than of an outsider.

The film’s title Nice Bombs stems from a piece of dialogue from Usama's young relative who, innocently enough, uses this phrase to describe the sounds of explosions that habitually filter through the administrative walls of Baghdad. This line in itself mirrors the kind of irony and paradox the film relishes in.

Usama’s camera witnesses an Iraq that bears a stark contrast to what the majority of the global North gets to see. Aestheticized images of Iraq's nuclear explosion are replaced with the humdrum life of the people that transpires in the shadow of war. The movie is a dark mirror that reflects the cruel reality of war and the impact it inflicts on ordinary citizens.

Extended family members, friends and neighbours all appear in the film, displaying an array of mixed emotions - hope, fear, confusion, and some semblance of optimism amidst chaos. The audience gets to see the people of Iraq not merely as victims of a brutal war, but as resilient individuals who keep their spirits high despite adversity.

A central aspect of Nice Bombs is the candid conversations Alshaibi engages in with his relatives. The matter-of-fact discussions that occur around tea tables present an authentic portrait of “normal life” amidst the war. The documentary, in this way, intertwines the personal and the political, the fantastic and the horrific, and the hopeful with the anxious.

Moreover, Alshaibi’s journey through his homeland perfectly encapsulates what many immigrants face in the contemporary world – the dislocation from a homeland, the nostalgia, the emotional roller-coaster while revisiting one's roots, and the evaluation of personal identities.

Nice Bombs offers an understanding of the human experiences related to war with an empathetic lens. The film is more than just a story about post-invasion Iraq, it intertwines different facets of human emotions and experiences, compelling every viewer to reassess their perspectives on war, conflict and media representation.

In conclusion, Nice Bombs, is more than a well-crafted documentary; it is Usama Alshaibi's personal journey into his home, his identity, and his very soul. It adds a vital and often overlooked dimension to the dialogue about the war in Iraq, putting ordinary people and their lived experience at the heart of the story. The film encourages us to look beyond what we see in conventional media, challenging stereotypes and encouraging understanding.