Get the MovieNight app
Add it to your home screen — faster & full screen
Get the MovieNight app
Add it to your home screen — faster & full screen
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Not part of a collection.
In 1984, Betty Mahmoody's husband took his wife and daughter to meet his family in Iran. He swore they would be safe. They would be happy. They would be free to leave. He lied.
An American woman, trapped in Islamic Iran by her brutish husband, must find a way to escape with her daughter as well.
Wuchak
Apr 19, 2021 · via TMDB
_**American mother & daughter ‘imprisoned’ in an alien culture of a strict Muslim country**_ In 1984, an Iranian doctor in Michigan (Alfred Molina) insists on visiting his family back home after ten years and insists that his wife (Sally Field) & daughter come along for a 2-week trip. They are horrified to discover that the doctor has no intention of going back to America and holds them hostage in Tehran with his family, abusing the wife. To make matters worse, Iran was at war with Iraq at the time and bombing raids on Tehran were not uncommon. Can they make it back alive? "Not Without My Daughter" (1991) is based on Betty Mahmoody's real-life account of the same name, co-written by William Hoffer and published in 1987. The movie reminded me of “Midnight Express” (1978), which is interesting since Hoffer also co-authored the book that movie was based on, published in 1977. Both stories are about Americans trapped in Muslim nations. Everyone knows Turkey isn’t so religiously strict, but Billy Hayes in “Midnight Express” was stuck in prison there and it was a harrowing experience (read the book as it’s naturally more factual than the movie). Betty wasn’t in prison in Iran yet she was still very much a prisoner and the experience was just as harrowing. The movie doesn’t paint all Iranians as evil, as some criticize. It just shows how the rights of women are seriously limited in such a legalistic patriarchal society. It also effectively shows how an otherwise good person can become an altogether different one under the influence of a dubious communal spirit. This happens all the time. Have you ever had a friend who acted one way in private, but very differently in a social situation with questionable peer pressure? Perhaps you yourself have done this; I have. It’s the same principle in this movie except that the “community spirit” and corresponding peer pressure involves male-dominated Islamic culture and the mistreatment of women. The daughter wrote her account of what happened in her 2015 book “My Name is Mahtob,” which basically corroborates her mother’s version of events while trying to be sympathetic to her father. She became a Christian and essentially points out how genuine Christians (as opposed to nominal ones) are persecuted in America by the secular religion of LIEberalism, which is ironic since America is supposed to champion religious & ideological freedom. It’s just a different kind of persecution than what Mahtob & her mother experienced in Iran. The film runs 1 hour, 55 minutes, and was shot mainly in Neve Ilan, Isreal, but also Ankara, Turkey (the closing scenes) and Atlanta, Georgia (the Michigan scenes). GRADE: B
User reviews courtesy of TMDB.
Amazon Video
Apple TV Store
Google Play Movies
YouTube
Fandango At Home
Amazon Prime Video
Amazon Prime Video with Ads
Amazon Video
Apple TV Store
Google Play Movies
YouTube
Fandango At Home
Plex
Sally Field
Betty Mahmoody
Alfred Molina
Moody
Sheila Rosenthal
Mahtob
Roshan Seth
Houssein
Sarah Badel
Nicole
Mony-Rey
Ameh Bozorg
Georges Corraface
Mohsen
Mary Nell Santacroce
Grandma
Marc Gowan
Doctor
Bruce Evers
Doctor
Ya'ackov Banai
Aga Hakim
Dafna Armoni
Koran Teacher
Avraham Mor
Hormoz
Sasson Gabai
Hamid
Farzaneh Taidi
Khanun Shaheen
Yosef Shiloach
Mohsen's Companion
Shaul Mizrahi
Iranian Soldier
Brian Gilbert
Director
Terry Rawlings
Editor
Anthony Waye
Associate Producer
Mike Fenton
Casting
Glenn Freemantle
Foley Artist
Jerry Goldsmith
Original Music Composer
David W. Rintels
Screenplay
First Lady of BMF: The Tonesa Welch Story
My Daughter Joy
Two Harbors
City of God
Saving Private Ryan
In the Mood for Love
A Taxi Driver
Drei Tage im April
Hitsudan Hostess
Room
Flamin' Hot
The Great Escape
The Last Supper
Downfall
Grand Illusion
Into the Wild
Papillon
All the President's Men
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Beautiful Boy
The Last Emperor
Cinderella Man
The Girl with the Needle
Gandhi
Girl, Interrupted
Shooting Dogs
The Bourne Identity
The Fugitive
Apollo 13
Kolya
Soekarno
The Trap
Soul on Fire
Malik
The Aviator
A Bridge Too Far
Music Box
After the Wedding
Max
Lies of the Heart: The Story of Laurie Kellogg
Southern Gospel
Seabiscuit
Cool Runnings
Born on the Fourth of July
The Tin Drum
Monsieur Batignole
Der Tunnel
Hoosiers
Der blinde Fleck
First Blush
Making Love in St. Pierre
The Court Jester
Heavenly Creatures
Valkyrie
Frances
The Heroes of Telemark
Madeleine
Bigger
Hard Miles
Escape to Victory
The Bank Job
Two Sons of Francisco
The Bounty
Vita & Virginia
Into the Blue
The Fortress
The Dish
Un eroe borghese
Mr. & Mrs. Smith
The Return of Martin Guerre
Cul-de-sac
Bride Flight
The Soloist
In the Realm of the Senses
The Exorcism of Emily Rose
Storm at Daybreak
K-19: The Widowmaker
On Her Majesty's Secret Service
Why Did I Get Married?
The Secret
Calendar Girls
Apollo 11: First Steps on the Moon
Little Voice
Wish You Were Here
Sight
Sommersby
The Hindenburg
Malice
Unlawful Entry
The Lark Farm
The Woman with My Face
Kartini: Princess of Java
Gothika
Beste Zeit
Sounds of Sand
Operation Amsterdam
The Invasion
Wonderland
Creep
Johnny One Hundred Pesos
Hostile Advances: The Kerry Ellison Story
A Day
A Mother's Touch
The Boy of The Fish
The Impossible Spy
The Happy Housewife
Der Tote am Strand
In Search of Lost Time
Hotel Very Welcome
The Doldrums or How to Cure Sadness
The Gabby Petito Story
The Taqwacores
Might
Petos
A Glimpse of Hell
What We Do Is Secret
The Secret Life
The Passion of Ayn Rand
The New Interns
No One and Nothing
Bis dass der Tod uns scheidet
I Know Who Killed Me
Faraaz
Love Exchange
Enough
Billion Dollar Spy
Mille scudi
A million-dollar man
Being Heumann
Před premiérou
No Family Without Blood
Untitled Chico Mendes Biopic
The 9,009 Lives of a Cocaine God
Opioid Scare
The Girl Who Saved the King of Sweden
A Good Theatrical Work
Dad Lore
Lia Has to Go Home
The Stoning of Soraya M.
Hotel Mumbai
Prison Break: The Final Break
Midnight Express
Nocturnal Animals
Cape Fear
Argo
Cleveland Abduction
Babel
Natural Born Killers
She Rides Shotgun
Panic Room
40 Acres
Sweet Girl
Sleeping with the Enemy
Butterfly on a Wheel
A Mighty Heart
Derailed
Extortion
Braven
Adulterers
Civic Duty
Shirley
Five Fingers
Little Boy Blue
Seeking Justice
Septembers of Shiraz
The Operative
Jan 11, 1991
© 2025-2026 MovieNight. All rights reserved.
Versus
Sign in to play →
Bicara Cinta
2020
The Pied Pipers of Harlow
1965
Sign in to vote
Battle your watched movies head-to-head
Community Top Movies
Evil Dead II
1987 · 14 wins
The Dark Knight
2008 · 14 wins
Halloween
1978 · 13 wins
Final Destination
2000 · 12 wins
Halloween II
1981 · 11 wins
Trivia
Leaderboard →Playing as a guest — sign in to save your score and rank on the leaderboard.
Movie Trivia
Guess the movie from a clue — tagline, plot, cast and more. Pick from four posters.
What movie experience do you prefer?
What is your favorite movie genre?
Versus
Sign in to play →
Bicara Cinta
2020
The Pied Pipers of Harlow
1965
Sign in to vote
Battle your watched movies head-to-head
Community Top Movies
Evil Dead II
1987 · 14 wins
The Dark Knight
2008 · 14 wins
Halloween
1978 · 13 wins
Final Destination
2000 · 12 wins
Halloween II
1981 · 11 wins
Trivia
Leaderboard →Playing as a guest — sign in to save your score and rank on the leaderboard.
Movie Trivia
Guess the movie from a clue — tagline, plot, cast and more. Pick from four posters.
What movie experience do you prefer?
What is your favorite movie genre?
We use essential cookies to run MovieNight, plus analytics (Google Analytics) and advertising (Google AdSense) cookies. By continuing to browse, you agree to this — or click No and we won't. See our Terms & Privacy Policy to learn more.