イラク戦争下のバグダッドを舞台に、爆撃で片足を失いながらも夢を追うサッカー少年と、彼を懸命に支える家族の姿を描いた社会派ドラマ。 2009年、スンニ派とシーア派の長年の対立や、米軍による侵攻と占領に揺れ動くイラクの首都バグダッド。サッカー選手メッシに憧れる11歳の少年ハムディは、仲間たちとサッカーに熱中する日々を過ごしていた。そんなある日、彼はアメリカの民間警備会社ユニティと反政府勢力の戦いに巻き込まれ、目を覚ますと左脚の一部を失っていた。さらに、父がユニティの通訳として働いていたため、近隣住民から“裏切り者”と見なされて家を焼かれ、一家は辺境の村への移住を余儀なくされる。片足であることを理由に地元のサッカーチームから拒絶され、何もかも変わってしまった世界で居場所を見失うハムディだったが、両親の愛に心を動かされ、もう一度夢を追うため立ち上がろうとする。しかし、戦争という無慈悲な現実は容赦なく彼らに襲いかかる。 サヒム・オマール・カリファ監督が2012年に手がけ、2015年アカデミー賞の短編実写部門の最終候補にも残った同名短編映画をもとに、新たに長編映画として完成させた。主人公ハムディを演じるのは、自身も5歳の時にテロにより片足と父親を失った過去を持つアフマド・モハメド・アブドラ。
Set in Baghdad during the Iraq War, this social drama portrays a boy who loses a leg in a bombing yet continues to chase his dream of playing soccer, and his family who desperately supports him. In 2009, Baghdad, the capital of Iraq, is shaken by the long-standing conflict between Sunnis and Shiites and the US invasion and occupation. Hamdi, an 11-year-old boy who idolizes soccer player Messi, spends his days passionately playing soccer with his friends. One day, he is caught up in a battle between the American private security company Unity and anti-government forces, and when he wakes up, part of his left leg is gone. Furthermore, because his father worked as an interpreter for Unity, neighbors brand them 'traitors' and burn down their house, forcing the family to relocate to a remote village. Rejected by the local soccer team because of his missing leg, Hamdi loses his place in a world that has changed completely, but moved by his parents' love, he tries to stand up and pursue his dream once more. However, the merciless reality of war attacks them relentlessly. Director Sahim Omar Kalifa, who made the original short film of the same name in 2012, which was a finalist for the 2015 Academy Award for Best Live Action Short Film, has expanded it into this feature-length film. Playing the protagonist Hamdi is Ahmad Mohamed Abdullah, who himself lost a leg and his father to terrorism at the age of five.
Source: cinematokyo.com · Tokyo mini-theater & independent cinema showtimes.