Iranium

A Middle Eastern despot with a frightening cache of weapons threatens to wreak havoc on the region and launch terror attacks against U.S. interests around the world. Sound familiar? Ten years ago, those accusations were aimed at Iraq's Saddam Hussein; today, an all-too-similar refrain is being directed at Iran's Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. Filmmaker Alex Traiman's documentary opens with a thumbnail sketch of the fall of the Shah's regime and the rise of Ayatollah Khomeini's Islamic theocracy, blithely asserting that Khomeini adopted an anti-American policy, but not bothering to mention that the Iranian people might have some grounds for being unhappy with the U.S. (Mohammad Mossadegh and the 1953 CIA-backed coup? Billions of U.S. dollars used to prop up the Shah's brutal regime?) The Iranian nuclear energy program actually began under the Shah in 1978, but was put on indefinite hold after the revolution. Iranium argues that Ahmadinejad's government is seeking to build a nuclear stockpile that will further enhance the country's international terrorism operations. While Iran's nuclear program is unquestionably something to be concerned about, this documentary employs overly emotional scare-tactic filmmaking—which may not be surprising, considering that the Clarion Fund, which has a history of producing saber-rattling films that warn about the threat from radical Islamic entities, underwrote it. Oscar-nominated actress Shohreh Aghdashloo offers some much-needed class with her crisp narration, but it's not enough to raise the film's credibility level. Not recommended. Aud: C, P. (P. Hall)