Directed by Brian Gilbert, Based on a true story, An Iranian physician and immigrant in the USA, Mahmoody, travels from the United States to Iran with his U.S.-born wife and daughter to visit his family. Once there, Moody gradually reveals to Betty that he wants to remain in Iran, thinking that it would be a better place for the family. Betty disagrees and wants to leave with her daughter, although Moody is determined not to let that happen. Over time, Moody becomes increasingly unstable and violent, taking advantage of Iranian laws to strike and terrorize his wife and daughter. Betty subsequently discovers that if Moody divorced her, under the laws of Iran, he would get sole custody of Mahtob. With no other choice, Betty takes Mahtob and they flee together, overland to Turkey and then back to America with the aid of people-smugglers.
( Not Without My Daughter has been criticized for its alleged misrepresentation of Muslim Iranians and of Iranian Islamic culture also the movie “exploits the stereotype of the demonic Iranian).
