"Captioning made possible by mgm home entertainment." "Mom, you be careful, all right?" "All right." "I do think this is longer than it used to be." "Dad is looking so well." "Well, he is, isn't he?" "Yeah." "He always was a fighter." "I know." "Look at mahtob." "She's such a daddy's girl." "Ha ha." "Well, so were you." "Moody!" "Mahtob!" "Dad!" "Come on!" "Fresh homemade lemonade!" "Come on!" "Come on, everybody!" "Mom, daddy's teaching me how to fish again!" "Ha ha ha!" "Dear, can I see today's catch?" "One of these days, o ye of little faith." "Are you having a good time?" "Dad, you want lemonade?" "Yes." "Ah!" "Sour?" "A little." "Not enough sugar?" "No." "I never can get that right." "There you are." "Hey, mahtob." "Mahtob." "What vitamins do we get from lemons?" "Mahtob?" "Vitamin c." "What vitamins do we get from bananas?" "Vitamin c, vitamin b, and fiber." "Right!" "Right!" "My kids weren't as smart as this little cutie." "Great." "Thanks, mom." "What will you be when you grow up?" "A nurse." "You can be a doctor as well, you know." "A doctor and a nurse." "How can you teach mahtob to fish?" "You've never caught a fish." "Honey, it's the best way." "I'm unprejudiced either way." "He bought all this fishing equipment." "They've fished all month... nothing." "If it's between your lemonade and my fishing," "I know where I stand." "I want to sit on daddy's lap." "Don't fight over me." "Find another available lap." "We have a 36-year-old male." "Give him a spinal." "Then we have... thank you... a 3o-year-old woman with a class 3 pap smear for a t.A.H." "The iranians prayed themselves right back into the stone age." "Why would anyone come here to study medicine?" "They can get a degree in Iran in, what, 2 weeks?" "7 days." "The ayatollah's got great ideas about medicine." "Soldier gets wounded, let him die." "He'll go to paradise anyway." "See that newspaper over there?" "The iranian funny page?" "How can he read that?" "It's not even words." "It looks like one of my prescriptions." "I wouldn't mind going to Iran." "Oh, no." "Don't turn it off." "It's ok." "Honey, what's wrong?" "Nothing's wrong." "I'm fine." "What's wrong?" "Have you talked to the family?" "Is everything all right?" "Oh, everybody's fine." "They're fine." "Oh, by the way, mammal phoned." "He and nasserine have had a baby boy." "That's great." "A couple of the doctors were making cracks at the hospital again." "Who were they?" "What does it matter?" "It matters, moody." "It matters." "We moved here to get away from all of that." "God, it's just so awful." "Oh, honey, forget it." "Honey, forget it." "There are dumb people everywhere." "Forget it, honey." ""And the genie roared with laughter..." ""ah ha ha ha ha!" ""O thou poor thief of a thousand alleyways," ""do you think you can marry the sultan's daughter when all the princes in persia are seeking her hand?"" ""You foolish slave," replied Aladdin." ""Have you forgotten the jewels in the cave?" ""You have the wits of a donkey." "I should put you into the lamp where you belong."" "Is there really Aladdin's cave?" "I'm sure there must be." "Could we find it?" "I'm not sure I know where it is." "I was born in persia." "They call it Iran now." "If I took you there, we could look for it together." "Iran's got caves and mountains and deserts, just like in the story, and mosques so beautiful, they're like jewels." "You know, when the sun shines on them, they dazzle your eyes." "Would you like to see those?" "Ok, where were we?" "Daddy?" "Uh-huh?" "Do I hate Americans?" "What do you mean?" "Of course not." "Lucille says I hate Americans because you're from Iran." "Sweetheart," "Lucille doesn't really know what she's talking about, so we shouldn't pay too much attention to her." "I've lived in America for 2o years." "I'm as American as apple pie, and so are you." "Give me a kiss." "Mmm!" "Big hugs." "Mmm!" "Big hugs." "Oh, that was ameh bozorq." "It's always the same." "She cries and cries on the phone." ""You're like a son to me." ""When your mother died," ""I was the one that raised you." ""Now I'm sick, I'm dying, you're a doctor, you're not here to look after me."" "Is she sick?" "No." "She's not sick." "She's 58." "She feels old, but she's not sick." "It's the same old guilt trip." "Oh, honey, come on." "She's your sister." "She misses you." "You have to phone her more often." "Phoning's no good." "She wants to see me." "Now that mammal and nasserine have their baby, everybody's there to celebrate except me." "It's been 10 years." "I haven't seen my family for 1o years." "Why doesn't she come for a visit?" "She wouldn't do that." "She's hardly left teheran." "She wants to see me over there." "They want to see us." "They've never met you or mahtob." "She keeps asking why can't we go over for a vacation." "You'll just have to explain it to them." "Explain what?" "We can't go to Iran." "Why not?" "I'm not about to take mahtob to Iran." "It's much too violent." "We're not going sightseeing to the persian Gulf." "We're spending 2 weeks on vacation with my family." "Moody, there's too much going on over there." "Your family is welcome here anytime." "If you feel that strongly about it, maybe you should go yourself." "I don't mean that, either." "None of us should go." "It's just not safe." "Mahtob:" "Mommy!" "I'm coming!" "You're getting it out of proportion." "I haven't seen them for 1o years." "I know how you feel." "Mahtob:" "Mommy!" "All right!" "I'm coming!" "No, it's ok." "Go ahead." "Honey, I want to go more than anything." "I miss them so much." "You're always talking about how important family is." "All I want to do is go for 2 weeks with you and mahtob and visit my family." "Moody, it scares me." "What scares you, honey?" "Look at me." "Do you honestly think for one moment that I would take you and mahtob anywhere that I thought would be dangerous?" "I love you both more than anything in the whole world." "Listen..." "Mahtob's got her vacation." "She starts a new school." "It's a good time." "I swear to you..." "On the sacred koran, you won't be in any danger, that we'll be back after 2 weeks, and that I wouldn't do anything to jeopardize yours or mahtob's safety." "Come on, honey." "It's not such a big deal." "Look what they're doing." "Hello, Betty." "Hello, nasserine." "It's so good to see you." "Ha ha ha!" "Fereshte, zoreh, this is mahtob." "Betty!" "Betty!" "This is ameh bozorq!" "Sweetheart, that's daddy's sister." "For you and mahtob." "Oh, my goodness!" "Look!" "Mahtob!" "Mahtob!" "Moonlight." "You are moonlight." "I know." "Mahtob means moonlight." "Mahtob, mahtob." "Betty?" "I am so happy." "Now you can be with us." "It's only for 2 weeks, but I'm very pleased." "I remember your house in America." "Mammal, so good to see you." "At last you are here, Betty." "I'm glad we could visit." "Congratulations on the baby." "Thank you." "Ha ha ha!" "What?" "No, nothing." "She say mahtob look like almost exact to moody and to ameh bozorq." "Some reception, huh?" "Oh, my gosh." "It's amazing." "Do you know all these people?" "All of them." "Oh, boy." "This is all my family." "Obviously, they really missed you." "The car's just over here." "Go ahead, unwrap it." "It's a gift." "Oh!" "Thank you." "Isn't that nice?" "Oh!" "Thank you." "Thank you." "Go on." "Put it on." "Now?" "They've gone to a lot of trouble." "It would make her very happy." "You know, it's pretty good quality." "Ok." "Get in the car." "God." "It all looks so different." "You said foreign women don't have to wear islamic dress." "Yeah." "I know." "I made a mistake." "It's all changed." "It's only when you go outside." "You saw the women at the airport." "I didn't recognize half my family." "They were all covered." "Last time I was here, only half wore chador." "It's all new." "What would happen if I didn't wear this?" "She says you'd get arrested." "I have to go to the bathroom." "We're almost there." "Hi." "Oh, no!" "They're hurting him, mommy!" "They're hurting him!" "Mommy, they're hurting him!" "It's their way of saying welcome." "It's a great honor." "They give the meat to the poor." "Honey, we have to step over it." "It's the custom." "It's expected." "Just hang on to me." "It's the Friday prayer from the teheran university." "Prayers." "Honey, don't forget, we got to get some things for your mom and dad." "Thank you." "Now let me do you." "All right?" "Fix your scarf!" "Fix your hair!" "Cover your hair!" "If they had known you were a foreigner, they wouldn't have been so harsh." "A little bit of hair fell out." "They're very strict about the dress code." "You must cover all." "Every single hair that is not covered is like a dagger aimed at the heart of our mothers." "Just give it time, sweetheart." "It's ok." "Look at these hands." "Mom... shh." "I guess that means we can eat." "Is it because I didn't wear a chador?" "Honey, you misinterpreted." "She wasn't looking at you." "You didn't see." "She looked at me." "It was the same feeling today when the police stopped me." "There was such dislike." "It just seems so primitive sometimes." "All religious beliefs seem primitive when they're not your own." "But to cover them up and hide them away... are they so afraid of women's sexuality?" "No." "That's not the reason." "Iranian women like wearing the chador." "It's a mark of respect." "When the shah tried to ban them, they had demonstrations in the streets." "Most women wanted to bring it back." "Sorry." "I know it's a different culture." "I guess I..." "Just don't understand it." "Why is mammal angry at you, and the others?" "They seem to be going at you all the time." "Yeah, well..." "You know my family." "They're very religious." "They're not sophisticated." "They're basically country people." "It's all changed so much." "It's all back to the koran." "It's been that way since the revolution." "When they moved into this house, they got rid of all the furniture." "Now they see me, and..." "I seem so americanized." "And you have an American wife." "Yeah." "I'm sorry." "I didn't want to insult them." "I know, I know." "Honey, it's going to seem strange for a while, but believe me, they want to love you." "They will." "I promise." "Ok." "What?" "Nothing." "Nothing." "What's so funny?" "You know, they think we make love all the time." "Who?" "The family." "Why?" "Well, because here, after they make love, they have to take a shower, because they can't pray unless they do." "It's considered unclean." "We're taking 2, 3 showers a day." "Oh, God." "Do they think we're 2 rabbits?" "I'm not taking another shower." "You knew that the whole time." "They didn't know you were such a swinger." "You knew that all along." "Don't go." "I have to." "Oh, moody, please stay." "I can't." "You've been getting up early every morning for a week and a half." "What's the matter with you?" "My family are seyeds." "That means they're direct descendants of muhammad." "Of course, to the sophisticated American, that must seem so incredibly primitive." "Betty." "Oh, God, you scared me." "I wondered where you were." "I think I got the most beautiful picture if I had this thing set right." "Are you coming in?" "Yeah." "Betty." "What?" "Something happened..." "Before we came out here." "What?" "I didn't want to tell you about it." "We were coming out here, so... honey, what happened?" "I got fired from the hospital." "You got fired?" "It happened just before we left..." "Literally, 2 days." "I can't believe it." "They can't do that." "Yes, they can." "If they can find someone who'll do the job for less money and who isn't an iranian." "Oh..." "Moody, I can't believe that." "Your work was going so well." "Do you think they like iranians in Michigan?" "It's always there..." "Just under the surface." "Not one of my colleagues has ever stood up for me whenever there was any trouble." "Honey, that's not true." "We're talking about the medical profession." "It's supposed to be an educated group of people." "What are we going to do?" "Well..." "I'll tell you what we're going to do." "We're going to go home tomorrow and find out how this happened." "We'll appeal." "It's America." "We've got laws." "You've got lots of friends." "And this just can't happen." "Ha ha ha!" "Hey!" "Will you stop that?" "You're messing everything up." "Get your own stuff together, please." "I don't think they're going to let this through." "Maybe mammal can ship it." "Sweetheart, listen to me." "Do you want to pack Toby bunny or carry him?" "Pack him." "Fold up all those clothes you messed up." "Can I put them in the suitcase?" "Yes." "Sweetheart, do you want me to pack for you?" "You must take passport to the airport 3 days before to get approval." "What approval?" "You must get stamp." "You cannot leave today." "When's the next flight?" "I don't know." "Moody, what is this?" "I don't know." "We'll have to wait for the next available flight, I guess." "How could you not take care of the passports?" "Didn't somebody tell you about this?" "How could you let this happen?" "It's a mistake." "Nobody thought about it." "We'll go to the airport and tell them we didn't know about the 3-day requirement." "We'll wait for the next flight." "I don't know how to say this to you." "We're not going back." "We're staying here." "What do you mean?" "How long?" "I want to get a job here in a hospital." "What?" "I want us..." "To live in Iran." "No." "No." "There's nothing for me in America." "No." "No." "What, are you crazy?" "We're Americans." "Your daughter's an American." "Moody, honey, you're upset about your job." "I understand that." "We'll fix it." "I want mahtob to grow up here." "She should become a Muslim." "No!" "No!" "You lied to me." "You lied to me." "You held the koran and swore nothing would happen." "You were planning this all the time." "Mommy, aren't we going home today?" "Yes, honey." "Go downstairs and say goodbye to everybody." "All right." "Moody, I know what's been going on." "They've got no right." "You've got to resist it." "Moody, I know how much you miss your family, how guilty they make you feel." "I know the kind of pressure they're putting on you." "I promise we'll come back, but we can't stay here." "This is a backward, primitive country." "I won't live here." "I won't bring up my daughter here." "How can you even consider raising mahtob here?" "I know it's the right decision." "Give it a chance for all of us." "Moody, you can't mean this." "I'm a highly qualified doctor." "They're desperate for doctors in Iran." "Besides, I'm a Muslim." "This is where I belong." "It seems harsh, but it's best for us all." "Mahtob could learn real values here!" "No!" "I won't stay here!" "Now you listen to me." "You're in my country now." "You're my wife." "You do as I say." "You understand me?" "We're staying here." "Mammal, would you translate for me?" "Please excuse me if I don't get my words straight." "I'm a bit shaken up." "I wanted to come down here and talk to you to see if you could understand my feelings." "Moody and I have been married for 7 years." "We've loved each other very much." "Trust was always very important." "I didn't want to come here." "Moody knew that." "I made it very clear." "The only reason I came was to visit with you and so you could meet our daughter." "But I was frightened." "And so moody swore to me on the holy koran that nothing would happen." "He held the koran, and he swore to me." "Isn't that true, moody?" "I had to." "You wouldn't have come." "Baba hajji, you're a religious man." "How can moody swear on the koran and then do this to me?" "Allah will forgive him." "No, no!" "Please help me, please!" "No!" "You can't do this!" "God damn you!" "God damn you!" "You can't keep me here!" "You had this planned all along!" "Damn you!" "I'll be with you." "I'll help you." "Will you try to go to sleep?" "Where are the checkbooks and credit cards?" "And I'll need the house keys and car keys." "They're in the small bag, I think." "Moody..." "Talk to me, please." "There's nothing more to say." "Oh, moody, please!" "Please talk to me!" "Moody!" "Moody, please!" "I told you to stop calling here." "No, she's not available." "Well, she's also my wife, which means she wants to do what I want." "You're not helping her by doing this." "Yes." "I know that very well, and I'm very sorry, but this isn't going to help his illness go away." "I really don't care about that." "The state department can do what the hell it likes!" "Betty, you've got to eat." "You can't keep this up." "You're going to make yourself very sick." "If I thought you really wanted to stay here, we could have such a great life." "You know..." "When I first heard the shah was leaving Iran, just after mahtob was born..." "I couldn't believe it." "It was just amazing." "They had everyone on the streets, millions of people." "I should have been here." "For the first time, we could say to everyone," ""this is our faith." ""This is our way of life." "This is who we are." "Nothing can stop us."" "You can't imagine what that was like." "I know things have been hard for you." "They'll get better." "I promise you." "Dear lord, hear our prayer." "Dear lord, hear our prayer." "Please help us leave Iran and get back to America." "Please help us leave Iran and get back to America." "Please let nothing separate us." "Please let nothing separate us." "And keep us always safe in your care." "And keep us always safe in your care." "Amen." "Amen." "Hello." "Hello, Betty." "Mom!" "Don't talk." "Just listen." "You are to go to the American interests section of the Swiss embassy." "There is no U.S. embassy in teheran anymore." "It's on kiribah foreshte." "Their number is 625-475." "625-475." "What are you doing?" "It was ringing." "I answered it." "Why do you want to humiliate me in front of my family?" "Don't touch the phone!" "Don't leave the house!" "Man:" "Swiss embassy." "American interests section." "I can't hear you." "You'll have to talk louder." "I can't talk louder." "I can't hear you, caller." "Are you there, caller?" "Are you there, caller?" "Please help me." "I'm being held hostage." "You'll have to talk louder." "You're very faint." "I can't." "I'm being held hostage." "Please help me." "I'm sorry." "I can't hear you." "Who were you when?" "Talking to?" "Before, on the phone." "No one." "It was nothing." "Don't lie to me." "I know you're lying." "Stop it, daddy, stop it!" "It's ok." "It's between mommy and me." "It's was nothing really." "I got the wrong number." "What do you think, huh?" "You think you can lie to me?" "You think you can do anything in this house without me knowing about it?" "My family tell me everything." "They're watching you all the time, so please don't be stupid." "Mommy isn't stupid." "By the way, she's going to have to start school soon." "We'll have to get her the right clothes." "I don't want to go to school." "Moody, what school?" "When?" "American interests, uh, the Swiss embassy, Swiss embassy." "Kiribah foreshte is the name of the street." "Kiribah foreshte." "Swiss embassy." "My name is Betty mahmoody." "I'm an American citizen." "Show your passport inside." "Passport." "We don't have our passports." "My husband has them." "We're American citizens." "You can go." "Mommy, we can go home!" "My name is Nicole ajamian." "Betty mahmoody." "This is my daughter mahtob." "Please, do sit." "We're so glad to see you." "I spoke with my mother in the United States." "I know the state department is into this." "We're just very happy to be here." "We'll sleep anywhere for as long as it takes." "What are you talking about?" "You cannot stay here." "I can't go back to my husband." "I want to go home to the United States." "That may be, but you are in Iran." "You're married to an iranian?" "Yes." "Then you are an iranian citizen." "No, I'm not." "I'm an American citizen, and my daughter is an American citizen." "We were born in the United States." "We have American passports." "My husband has them." "We've never changed our citizenship." "If you marry an iranian man, you automatically become an iranian citizen." "The laws regarding women are very strict." "You cannot travel anywhere without written permission." "You have no rights to the children." "They go to the man in a divorce." "I'm sorry, but you'll have to go back to your husband." "But we'll never get out of Iran." "We're being held hostage." "It was almost impossible to come here." "There are many American women here in similar circumstances." "May I ask you why you came to Iran?" "I don't know." "I don't know." "I was afraid to come." "I wanted to please him." "I trusted him." "I was frightened to come, but I never thought this would happen." "I thought of him as an American." "He's changed." "Oh, God, he's changed." "Look, Mrs. Mahmoody..." "Many came back after the revolution feeling..." "Guilty about being away, about turning their backs on Iran and on islam." "Now Iran is an islamic state, and that's a wonderful thing for many iranians." "Well, if there is anything I can do, maybe if you need to organize telephone calls to the U.S..." "Or write letters home." "If daddy asks, we went for a walk and got lost." "Mommy!" "Mommy!" "Where were you?" "I went for a walk!" "I got lost!" "We went for a walk!" "Stop!" "You try anything like this again..." "I'll kill you!" "Oh, my God." "¶ Happy Birthday to you ¶" "¶ Happy Birthday to you ¶" "¶ Happy Birthday, dear mahtob ¶" "¶ Happy Birthday to you ¶" "¶ Happy Birthday to you ¶" "¶ Happy Birthday to you ¶" "¶ Happy Birthday, dear mahtob ¶" "¶ Happy Birthday to you ¶" "Hi." "Hi." "Nasserine said you wanted to see me." "I can't believe she's 5, can you?" "No." "Thank you for today..." "The doll and everything." "I miss her." "It seems I haven't spent much time with her lately." "Moody..." "I want to make it work." "You were such a wonderful father today." "It brought it all back." "Honey, I want you to be happy." "I want to make you happy." "I need you to help me." "Oh, Betty." "I didn't want it to be like this." "I love you." "I never want to hurt you." "Moody..." "Moody, I need you to help me." "We can't stay in this house." "It's my sister's house." "She'd be insulted if we went away." "She doesn't really want us here." "She doesn't like me." "We've got nowhere else to go." "Yes, we do." "We could stay with mammal and nasserine." "We helped them when they were in the states." "Nasserine goes to classes." "I could babysit." "Oh, Betty..." "I don't want to lose you." "I want you to tell me anything I can ever do." "The kitchen." "Kitchen." "I'll cook for you." "I'm so grateful." "Thank you." "I was just telling him that the same rules apply as before." "Mammal." "You have to wear chador tonight." "Oh?" "My Uncle's a mullah." "He's highly respected." "He's a very influential man." "He's written books on islam." "Maybe he's going to help me get a job." "No." "Betty, you are a very good iranian cook." "Thank you." "You are lucky people." "Why you wear chador?" "I thought I had to." "But why?" "Chador is persian tradition." "It's not necessary to wear it inside." "It is exaggerated with some people now." "Mahmood told me you read koran." "Yes." "I try." "I like to." "Very good." "You go to koran class?" "No." "Mahmood must send you there." "They are in English language." "Would you like?" "Yes, very much." "The hadith are reports of the collected sayings of the prophet with additional commentaries by devout and learned men." "In our readings from the koran..." "We'll pause to consider the hadith when appropriate." "What page are we on?" "I don't know." "She... you're American." "God has not left the earth since the death of Adam without there being on it an imam guiding the people to God." "Woman:" "We lived there." "Betty:" "You're kidding." "I'm from Chicago, but I lived in Michigan." "Where in Michigan?" "Near Lansing." "Where near Lansing?" "Oh, it's a little place." "You wouldn't know it." "Owosso." "I lived there for 5 years." "I went to grammar school there." "I lived on the corner of Libby and moline." "Woman:" "My husband's a doctor." "He had his own practice there." "Betty:" "My husband's a doctor, too." "I can't believe this." "And now I work for an English-language magazine for islamic women." "Have you become Muslim?" "Mm-hmm." "Did you convert?" "Well, I wanted to, I guess." "My husband was happy I did." "It made things a lot better." "Uh, I got to go." "Ellen, it's been so... no, really." "Moody, you'll never guess." "I just met an American woman in class." "She's from owosso." "Her husband's a doctor." "Are they here?" "No." "They just left." "She's invited us over." "Is that all right?" "Yeah, that's fine." "I want you to ask questions." "When you're out with your daddy," "I want you to ask him questions..." "About taxis and buses..." "And how much things cost." "Ok." "All right?" "Ask him questions about the signs..." "What the signs mean, what they say." "All right." "And then you'll be able to teach me." "Why do you want to learn all that?" "I'm going to have to..." "If we're going to get out of here." "Lentils, beans." "What's that?" "That's his name on the side." "What's he selling?" "There's all kinds of things they sell here." "Look." "These are pictures of all the people that died in the war." "They put the pictures up so everybody remembers." "Yeah, that's one, too." "Why all these questions, honey?" "What's that?" "Well, that's... that's the rest of the market." "And what's that?" "Some fruit here." "What is he eating?" "Put sugar on the beets, and they taste like candy." "Telephone." "Telephone." "The moment the shah left," "I wanted to go back to Iran, but Ellen didn't want to." "So I said fine." "I'll go without you." "So, uh, she came." "The first year in Iran, things were very bad between us." "She couldn't adjust, could you, Ellen?" "It took quite a time before she understood how to be a good wife." "Oh." "Oh." "Warm, isn't it?" "Yes." "Why did you come back?" "I mean, my God, he let you go home to the states..." "And you came back." "Maybe at the beginning, if..." "Of course, there was the custody problem..." "With the kids, so..." "It was tough for me." "You know, I had no experience..." "Small American town." "Was he violent?" "Not in the states, never." "They're not supposed to, you know." "It's not islamic." "Marriages do work out here." "They can be good." "It's been hard for me at times, but you've got to give it time, Betty." "Islam has such beauty in it." "I mean, I'm glad my kids are growing up as muslims." "Ellen, I'm so happy we've become friends." "When you told me you were from home," "I was so thrilled." "It's like a miracle." "Ellen..." "I have something I want to tell you." "If I do, can you keep it a secret..." "Not tell your husband?" "I'm sorry." "I'm sorry." "Ellen, I'm sorry." "Please, please forget I spoke." "No, it's ok." "Go ahead." "I won't tell him." "That's a promise." "Would you take this letter for me?" "I'm trying to get back home to America with my daughter." "My family is working on it..." "But there's nothing I can do." "Moody knows where I am every single minute." "You're crazy." "Don't you realize what can happen?" "Terrible things." "You just can't, Betty." "You know, if you were caught, they could execute you." "It's for the embassy." "Please." "Can you believe that?" "They're desperate for doctors in Iran, but because I trained in America, no one will give me a job." "I'm telling you, this country was getting quite sophisticated before the revolution." "We were building chemical plants, oil refineries, multimillion-dollar installations." "Now they're all rotting in the desert because nobody can operate them!" "It's all so primitive!" "Honey..." "Somebody needs to go to the market." "I can't go." "But it's for tonight's dinner." "I can't go." "You'll have to wait till nasserine gets back." "She's home so late." "What'll we do tonight?" "I don't know!" "Can't you go by yourself?" "Yeah." "I can." "Really." "I know the way." "It's not far." "I'll take the children." "You give me a list of everything you need." "I'll tell you how long it will take and what time for you to be back." "Take the baby." "Mahtob can stay here with me." "Dosari?" "Dosari?" "Dosari?" "Dosari?" "You are American?" "Yes." "I need dosari for the telephone." "I was in America many times..." "New York, amarillo, Texas." "You want a telephone?" "Please." "Come." "Please." "Thank you." "American interests section." "Nicole ajamian." "Nicole, it's Betty." "Have you heard anything from the state department?" "No!" "I can't!" "Because he watches me all the time, or he has somebody watch me." "I didn't know that." "Will they let us go if I get a divorce?" "What?" "I can't do that." "I can't do that." "I won't leave her." "Nicole..." "Nicole, I won't leave her!" "All right." "I'll get to the embassy if I can." "Thank you." "You're very kind." "You can use the telephone when you want." "No problem." "Thank you." "I like America very much." "My son was with university of Texas." "That is my son." "He is a martyr for the war." "My name is Hamid." "Anytime for telephone, you come here." "I'm Betty." "Mahtob:" "Who's going to take me to school tomorrow?" "I don't know, honey." "It will either be me, or it will be daddy." "But I want you to." "I don't know if I can, mahtob." "Why can't you?" "Honey..." "I promise you I'll be there, and everything will be all right." "Ok?" "Come on." "Dear lord..." "Dear lord..." "Hear our prayer." "Hear our prayer." "We beg you to help us leave Iran..." "We beg you to help us leave Iran..." "And get back to America." "And get back to America." "Please let nothing separate us." "Betty:" "I know, honey, I know." "I'll be back this afternoon, sweetheart." "I'll be back." "I'll be back, sweetheart." "Sweetheart, I'll be back." "I'll be here, sweetheart." "I don't want to go!" "Don't worry, baby." "Mommy, please!" "Please don't leave me!" "Mommy, don't leave me!" "Take the baby." "I'll get the rice." "Hamid, I can't stay." "You must to come inside." "There is someone here." "Miss nassimi, she came to help you." "Hamid told me you wish to leave Iran." "You know it is extremely dangerous." "I have to get back to the United States." "Why don't you try to get a divorce?" "No." "No, if I get a divorce..." "Then my husband will get custody of my daughter." "I can't do that." "If they catch you trying to escape with your daughter, they could execute you." "I can't leave her here." "Look, I have to go." "Please, wait." "I think we can help you." "My brother has helped many people here." "I will be here Wednesday and Thursday at this time if you can come." "Here is my telephone number." "Memorize it, please." "Don't keep it." "Thank you." "Ah, Betty!" "I got the rice." "Yes." "Sorry." "What happened?" "She was crying all day again." "I had to go pick her up." "We can't make her do this, moody." "She's frightened." "I know." "Tomorrow, they want you to go to school with her." "Ok." "They want you to stay with her every day." "Of course." "Of course I'll stay with her." "They're all devout women there." "You'll be watched." "Ok." "I just want mahtob to be happy." "I want her to have a happy childhood." "Don't you want to give her that?" "Islam's the greatest gift I can give my child." "You said there'd be no danger." "Do you remember, moody?" "Mahtob could have been killed." "America's doing this." "Who's supplying the bombs?" "Who supplies the planes?" "Who's backing Iraq?" "Don't be so naive." "America's responsible for this war!" "No one else!" "You should not behave this way." "I had to tell hormoz." "It is your duty as a wife..." "To tell your husband everything!" "You cannot have secrets!" "Oh, very nice." "Very nice." "Mahtob." "Very nice." "Very nice." "I am very sorry." "Is bad in Iran." "Bad for you... your husband." "I'm sorry." "We help you." "We help you." "Help you." "Could I use the telephone?" "Telephone?" "Nah, nah!" "Husband." "No telephone." "You inside." "You inside." "Right." "You come after morning." "11:00." "After morning." "I can come late with mahtob?" "Thank you." "There are 3 principal ways out of Iran." "You could go to baluchistan..." "And then across the mountains into Pakistan." "In the southwest, to bandar abbas..." "Then across the Gulf by boat to Oman." "This is the most dangerous route..." "From teheran across the zagros mountains..." "Through Kurdistan into Turkey." "There are checkpoints everywhere, and the border crossing is very heavily armed." "Which way do you think is best?" "The Gulf." "How much will it cost?" "When you and your daughter are safely back in America, then, if you can, perhaps you will reimburse me." "Dollars would be of more help to me than iranian currency." "Keep in touch with my sister." "Right." "Betty:" "Run!" "Run!" "Run!" "Where were you?" "Where have you been?" "Mommy!" "Mommy!" "Get up!" "Get up!" "Get up!" "I'm going to kill you." "I'm going to cut you up." "You're dead!" "Get out." "Betty!" "Betty!" "Nicole ajamian." "Nicole ajamian." "Nicole..." "He's going to kill me." "He's going to kill me." "He said he was going to kill me." "This woman is from the embassy." "I need to take mahtob." "Nah, nah, nah, impossible." "Child goes to father!" "You don't understand." "He's going to kill me." "I have to get my daughter." "Madam, you wait." "Husband come." "I want my baby!" "Madam!" "Madam!" "I want my baby!" "Madam!" "I want my baby!" "I want my baby!" "That's enough." "They won't let you take her." "The state department wants you to go..." "To the iranian foreign minister and ask for his help." "No!" "The state department can't do anything!" "They can't help me at all, don't you know that?" "They don't even understand the culture!" "They'll only make things worse!" "Madam, you wait for your husband." "Tell her I want my baby!" "I want my baby!" "I cannot." "Please." "Please, please, please." "Listen, honey, don't talk right now, because I have to tell you." "You can't talk about Hamid or the embassy, because if you do, they'll never let us get away." "Don't say anything." "Do you hear me?" "Mommy, don't leave me." "Don't go away." "I promise you." "I promise you I won't leave you, do you hear?" "I won't leave you." "Where are mammal and nasserine?" "You, don't ask questions." "Is that enough for you, sweetheart?" "They've moved in with ameh bozorg." "Moody, what are you doing?" "Mommy!" "Mommy!" "Moody, don't take her!" "Moody!" "Moody!" "Please, please!" "Please don't take her!" "Moody, please don't take her!" "Moody!" "Moody!" "Moody!" "Please!" "Moody!" "Moody!" "Moody!" "Moody, don't take her!" "Don't take her." "Does mommy ever take you on adventures?" "Come on." "Where does she take you?" "To koran class." "We saw some camels." "Yeah?" "You go anywhere else?" "How come you were late for school yesterday?" "Where were you?" "We got lost." "No, you didn't, mahtob." "I know you didn't." "We did!" "We did!" "Where the hell were you?" "We got lost!" "Where were you?" "We got lost!" "Don't lie to me!" "Where were you?" "We got lost!" "Moody..." "Moody, please don't leave." "How is mahtob?" "Please." "Please tell me." "Is she all right?" "Mahtob." "Mahtob." "Betty?" "Betty?" "Mahtob!" "Mahtob!" "You brought her back to me." "Thank you." "Thank you." "My baby." "Thank you." "Thank you." "People:" "¶ Happy Birthday to you ¶" "¶ Happy Birthday to you ¶" "¶ Happy Birthday, dear mahtob ¶" "¶ Happy Birthday to you ¶" "Will you be all right?" "Yes, but when will you be back?" "I'll be back as soon as I can." "All right." "All right." "You be brave." "I will." "We will fly you to bandar abbas and then take you by speedboat across the Gulf." "I'll never be able to thank you." "Please, Betty, there's really no need." "Just make the journey safely." "I wish you could have seen this in the summer." "All the flowers have gone now." "Gardens have always had a special place in persia throughout our history." "In fact, the word paradise is a persian word." "It's hard to believe, isn't it, that the idea of paradise will always be intimately connected with Iran." "Whenever I think of what's happening to my country," "I try to remember its gardens." "You must try and phone me now, whenever you can." "By Christmas, you'll be home." "¶ Joy to the world, the lord has come ¶" "¶ let earth receive her king ¶" "¶ let every heart prepare him room ¶" "merry Christmas." "I'm sorry, Betty." "The Gulf got too dangerous." "There are warships everywhere, and they're checking all the civilian boats." "Zahidan is safer, so I booked a flight for you and mahtob on Wednesday, 29th January... 10 days from now." "Wednesday." "Good." "Moody's at the hospitals on wednesdays." "On the 29th," "I'd like you to take mahtob to the school bus as usual." "We will pick you both up from the bus stop and take you to a safe house until it's time to get you to the airport." "Betty:" "Was he in pain?" "Is he now?" "How much?" "How long has he known?" "So he's not responding in any way to the treatment?" "What is it?" "And they all feel that way?" "What?" "Mother, would you hold on for a moment?" "It's my father." "He's not doing well." "They feel they should operate... tell her we'll go to America to see him." "Tell her you're going." "Go on." "Tell her you're going to see him." "Tell her now." "Mom, moody says we can come home." "I'm sorry about your father." "Thank you." "Moody, will you be able to come home with us?" "No, I can't go." "I'd lose my job at the hospital." "But it's all right for mahtob to come?" "No, she can't go, either." "She's got school." "You have to go on your own." "I can't go without mahtob." "Why not?" "Of course you can." "You'll see your father." "What's the problem?" "I won't go without her." "Betty." "You'll leave as soon as possible." "You'll see your father, and then you'll liquidate all our assets in the states." "It's my money, and I want it!" "Don't do it, Betty." "If you go, you'll never see your daughter again." "He won't allow you back into the country." "My father is dying." "I've got to go see him." "I don't think he'd want you to, Betty, if he knew that it meant losing your daughter." "Why can't I go now and then come back and maybe later try to get out?" "You can't leave mahtob here, not with moody's family." "They're from the provinces." "They're more fanatical than most." "This regime only encourages them." "Look, there are some people in this country that consider a girl ready for marriage at 9 years of age." "Child brides are not unknown." "If you want to be free with mahtob, then you've got to leave on the 29th as we agreed." "But he may send me out before..." "Maybe even tomorrow." "I don't know." "He hasn't said." "For the war." "They take them younger and younger." "12 years old, some of them." "They give them plastic keys to paradise made in Taiwan and tell them that they'll go straight to heaven if they die for their country." "They use them sometimes to clear the minefields." "Children run across the field and get blown to pieces." "Ok." "We've only a week to go." "He's got to get your passport validated." "He can't do it in the time." "Believe me, it's just not possible." "He trusts you now." "Try and do anything you can to delay him." "Where were you?" "Moody." "I went to the market." "I wanted to buy my father some gifts, but I couldn't find anything I liked." "The one day I come home early." "I've let you go." "I've given you freedom." "Ok, now listen to me." "If you don't do exactly as I say," "I'm going to have to lock you up for the rest of your life, and that means you'll never, never see mahtob again." "Do you understand me?" "Now, on the 26th, you get on that plane to America." "You do exactly as I say." "You send everything back here, and then you return." "And in the meantime, you do not touch the phone, and you don't step one foot outside this house." "Now, is that clear?" "Yes." "Moody..." "You booked for the 26th?" "What do you mean?" "Course I booked." "You got the validation?" "Remember last time?" "Zia knows people." "It's all been done." "I hope your father gets well." "I am sorry we can't see you off tomorrow." "Please come back to us." "We love you." "Your father will be very happy to see you." "There's an emergency." "They want me to go back to the hospital." "I got to go." "I have to go to the market." "There's a few things that I need for the jorescht." "It'll take me about 20 minutes." "I'll go." "Oh, no, no, no." "It's all right." "I need some fresh air anyway." "I'd like to buy some gifts for my father." "There's just been no time." "Honey, mahtob..." "Want to get your scarf and your jacket?" "Houssein." "Houssein." "Houssein, I have her with me." "Houssein, listen to me." "This is the last chance I have." "We have to leave now." "Betty, come." "My brother wants you to call your husband and delay him." "But first I must call houssein and tell him you're safe." "I forgot Toby bunny." "What?" "I forgot Toby bunny." "Honey, honey, do you want to go home to America?" "Mahtob..." "Stop crying." "Stop crying." "Listen now." "If we go back and get Toby bunny, we have to stay there with daddy." "Now, do you want that?" "But when will I see my daddy again?" "I don't know." "Stop crying now." "I love you." "I love you." "You be my big, brave girl." "All right, now." "No, moody." "I'm not going to get on that airplane." "Why not?" "What are you trying to do?" "What are you planning, Betty?" "Nothing." "I'm not planning anything." "I'm going to call the police." "Well, then you go ahead and call the police, because there are a few things" "I'd like to tell them, too." "Like what?" "Like I know the clinic isn't legal." "You don't have an operating permit." "How do you know?" "I know." "I found out." "I sit there all day long." "You think I wouldn't notice a thing like that?" "What do you want to do to me?" "I only try to be good to you." "You want to be happy, don't you?" "Yes." "Well, then we don't need the police, do we?" "I agree." "That's not going to be necessary." "That won't be necessary." "We'll get together and talk about this, then." "Huh?" "Betty?" "Well, I'll have to think about it." "Yeah, well, you better think about it, because I don't believe a word you say anymore." "How could you do this?" "How could you take mahtob away?" "You're stealing my child." "No." "No." "No." "Promise me." "I'm not going to promise you anything, Betty." "You're my wife." "Now get your ass back here!" "Hello, Betty." "This is zia." "Zia, I want you to tell moody that I have a lawyer." "Tell moody I won't meet with him alone." "If he wants to talk with me," "I'll be there between 11:00 and 12:00 tomorrow morning and 6:00 and 8:00 tomorrow afternoon." "You tell him that." "We're ready." "We must go now." "They'll find you if you stay any longer in teheran." "Ok." "Ok, let me get my things." "We've had no time to organize any paperwork, so you may have some difficulty in Turkey, but at least they won't send you back here." "Try to get to the U.S. embassy when you get to Ankara." "We'll drive you to the zagros mountains." "Tribesmen will take you across." "They're kurdish." "Most of them are friendly." "They know the route and how to avoid all the checkpoints." "Now, you must not let anybody know you're American." "First, you must be very careful of the checkpoint outside teheran." "Betty, very soon, I hope, you will be strolling again in your own garden at home in America." "Hurry." "Hurry." "What?" "What are you doing?" "Oh, God." "What are you doing?" "No." "Please." "Please." "Mommy." "Mommy." "Mommy." "Mommy, wake up." "Wake up, mommy." "No!" "Get off me." "Mommy." "Mommy." "No!" "No!" "Get off me!" "No!" "Get off me!" "Get off me!" "Mommy!" "Shh." "No." "No, it's ok." "It's ok." "We're home, baby." "We're home." "Mommy." "Captioning made possible by mgm home entertainment"