This fly-on-the-wall documentary opens in a Baghdad home on the eve of the first post-Saddam elections in Iraq in January 2005. A young boy asks his father if he is going to vote. The camera alights on the pensive face of the father, Dr. Riyadh. The rest of the documentary, explains the implications of this apparently innocent question, charting the tumultous six months up to this point.

The central character is a Sunni doctor, father of six, and political candidate for the Iraqi Islamic Party. He is a vocal critic of the U.S. occupation, but also someone who is prepared to try to air his grievances democratically. The fact that he takes this stance in spite of the threat of violence on his family, makes him a particularly sympathetic character.

Laura Poitros's roving camera gets everywhere, from the fences at Abu Grahib where the doctor tries to help inmates on the other side of the wire, to riding with the US assault choppers over Baghdad. The film captures the fear, and encouragingly, the humour and resilience of the people of Baghdad, particularly this family.

The occupying US forces come across as largely out-of-touch and slowfooted. Spending one and a half hours with doctor Riyadh and his family will give you a better understanding of the situation in Iraq than watching hours on end of news reports.