American Sniper (Photo : Reuters)
"American Sniper" is not just successful in the US but in Iraq as well, according to New York Post.
A moviegoer from Baghdad named Gaith Mohammed went to see the motion picture on its first week and revealed that the cinema was "full" and "rowdy." Mohammed added that the audience focused on the film but some of them shouted "shoot him!"
In "American Sniper's" first scene, the theatre was filled with excitement as Chris Kyle played by Bradley Cooper hesitated to shoot a child. Mohammed said that everybody encouraged Cooper to just fire at the child since he has an explosive device.
The young student added that there are some scenes that were difficult to watch especially the ones where kids and women were involved. However, he confirmed that he loved the film since war movies like "American Sniper" decreases his fear in facing the rebel group ISIS, USA Today reported.
Mohammed does not think that the film was racist just like several criticisms it has received. The moviegoer added that it is not racist at all since it fights terrorists. The only thing that "bothered" him was when Cooper said that he is not familiar with the Quran or the Islamic bible.
Another student from Baghdad named Omar Jalal commented that Kyle is a hero who underwent very challenging training. Jalal said that Kyle was just doing his job in serving his country and he adores war movies whether they are real or not.
A government employee named Wael had a different view about the "American Sniper." Wael thinks that Kyle has the choice not to shoot the child but instead hide him somewhere else. The employee added that Kyle opted to kill the young boy because like other Americans, he is "bloodthirsty."
The success of "American Sniper" In Iraq may have been a surprise for the audiences in the West but filmmaker Mohamed Al-Daradji said that it is totally expected since Iraqis like to watch war films. The filmmaker added that these kinds of movies are something that Iraqis can very well relate to.
"American Sniper" is directed by Clint Eastwood and has earned $209 million in its first two weeks in the US alone.
