‘No Paradise If You Are Killed by a Woman’ Review: Iraq’s Oscar Submission Offers a Patriotic Anthem to the Kurdish Peshmerga’s Fight Against Islamic State

A female Kurdish sniper searches Mosul for her sister who was kidnapped by Islamic State in Norwegian-Kurdish director Halkawt Mustafa's out-of-competition Venice premiere. 

By Alissa Simon

Alissa Simon

Film Critic

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The trope of the lone action hero with near-superhuman strength gets a gender switch in “No Paradise If You Are Killed By A Woman,” a visually impressive drama about a resourceful female Peshmerga sniper. Although selected as Iraq’s submission for the Best International Feature Oscar, the third fiction feature from Norwegian-Kurdish helmer Halkawt Mustafa (“Red Heart,” “El Clásico”) may fall between two stools for Western viewers: There’s not enough action for genre fans and the narrative’s blend of melodrama and earnestness may turn off highbrow arthouse viewers. But it’s a different story in MENA territories where Sony/Empire has already nabbed distribution rights. Regional and Kurdish diaspora audiences should appreciate the strong visual and technical craftmanship used in this harrowing tale.

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