brilliant actors, brilliant editing

It's fun, it's light, [but] it has a hard time when its tries to get heavy.

The tone of this movie is interesting -- the stakes are both dramatic and high, but it's balanced with a lot of fun, tongue and cheek dialogue.

The story, direction, characters, and writing/dialogue is akin to taking a tranquilizer shot to the neck, but everything else was so well done.

A very nice film, with many good qualities. First of all the cast: the pretty (and talented) Golshifteh Farahani and the less known but equally intriguing Korkmaz Arslan, together with several convincing actors in supporting roles. Interestingly, neither Farahani nor Aslan are Kurds (she is Iranian and he is Turkish…).Then we have the undisputed talent of Mr Hiner Saleem (who really is Kurd), whose filmography already has gained him a well deserved fan base.Finally, you'll see Kurdistan. The ugly, cold Kurdistan with its stony hills and gaunt landscapes. Poor, superstitious and dangerously undeveloped, with its violent attitude and undersized rides. And you won't be able to help but like it.

...just as an addition to the 2014 review by "junocreate" ... to me 'My Sweet Pepper Land" proved especially appealing by its symbolic value for probably a major part of our world, contrasting with some far more widely known world parts, certainly in most movies, where in the end, law and order seem to rule, especially for the daily lives of us, westerners, who are permanently being blinded to most of what is going on, and are unable to interfere effectively with those wildly exercising their power and injustice by even unjust laws nearby, as would hold for the worlds easterners too. Sadly, in real live, we are extremely short of common people like the film's hero Baran, who has learned how to effectively discriminate between the need for moral tolerance and the need for actively killing. In the movie, too, I ended up fearing for Baran's short time future in the circumstances, though he would seems to being happy at that moment.In short, the film demonstrates our worlds most pressing dilemma in an involving and easy to grasp way. Great movie.

Best movie of the week! This marvelously shot film will probably end up in my "best of 2014" list. Hiner Saleem brings us a beautiful blend of spaghetti western and political drama, not without some witty humor and satire. Genre-bending cinema always scores high with me, especially if it has such a wonderful aesthetic. The landscapes of Eastern Turkey and Northern Iraq are magical in their desolation and fierceness. On top of the majestic cinematography and the brilliant playing on genres, the acting of Korkmaz Arslan and Golshifteh Farahani is superb and the soundtrack (including the music played on the Hang) is one that I would listen to for hours on end. The film reminded me of Tepenin ardi, a Turkish western tragedy directed by Emin Alper, which also had this wonderful aesthetic. Since I saw Tepenin ardi I realized there's more to Turkish cinema then the commercial Yeşilçam industry and the art-house master Nuri Bilge Ceylan. Hiner Saleem might do this for Iraqi cinema. Or must I say Kurdish cinema? 'Cause let's be fair: this movie breaths Kurdish sentiment and passion through all its veins; Saleem might have more in common with the Turkish Kurd Yılmaz Güney (Yol) and the Iranian Kurd Bahman Ghobadi (Turtles Can Fly and No One Knows About Persian Cats). In any case, My Sweet Pepper Land is a masterful film that didn't get the attention and distribution it so obviously deserves.

Great looking movie with many nods to the classic Westerns, including those of Sergio Leone, this movie dramatises the struggle by the new Kurdish regional government in Iraq to form the basics of government within its territories, especially the rule of law and educating the children, through the story of the policeman and the schoolteacher. This is all set in its wildest region, nicknamed the Bermuda Triangle, where the borders of Iraq, Iran and Turkey intersect. The music is a highlight, the cinematography too, and the landscape is stunning as well. I liked the story and the main characters, and so far it's one of my favourite films of the year, partly because it's so different but also because it is very well done.