Ember's analysis
- Pacing
- Brisk
- Intensity
- Strong
- Complexity
- Easy to follow
- Violence
- Moderate
- tense
- harrowing
- paranoid
- serious movie night
- historical drama viewing
What critics said
Critics generally found the film dramatically gripping and strongly performed, while objecting to its manipulative score and reductive, potentially prejudiced portrayal of Iranian and Muslim characters.
What sets it apart
May contain story progression spoilers
Betty persistently plans and negotiates an escape from Iran while trying to take Mahtob with her.
Betty is an American woman navigating Tehran, Iranian family expectations, and a legal environment she does not understand.
Moody abruptly transforms a planned visit into permanent residence and uses control over Betty and their daughter to prevent departure.
Betty’s movements are constrained by Moody, his family, and the surrounding political environment, making ordinary errands and contacts feel dangerous.
Films like Not Without My Daughter, and why
The Impossible
shared true-story survival drama, coercive domestic control, and escape from a hostile foreign environment
Hotel Rwanda
shared cross-cultural displacement, family peril, and emotionally direct survival storytelling
Room
shared captivity, maternal resourcefulness, and sustained escape tension
The Year of Living Dangerously
shared political repression, family separation, and determined flight to safety
Movie Details
- Director
- Brian Gilbert
- Release Date
- 1991-01-11
- Runtime
- 116 min
- Rating
- 6.9 / 10 (375)
Cast
- Sally Field
- Alfred Molina
- Sheila Rosenthal
- Roshan Seth
- Sarah Badel
- Mony-Rey
- Georges Corraface
- Mary Nell Santacroce
- Ed Grady
- Marc Gowan
Where to watch in United States
- Streaming
- Amazon Prime Video, Amazon Prime Video with Ads
- Rent
- Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home, Plex
- Buy
- Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home
Streaming options come from TMDB and change over time.
Common questions
- What is Not Without My Daughter about?
- A determined American mother risks everything to reclaim her daughter after a family visit to Iran becomes involuntary captivity.
- What is Not Without My Daughter like to watch?
- Ember's analysis rates the pacing of Not Without My Daughter as brisk, its intensity as strong and its storytelling as easy to follow.
- Is Not Without My Daughter violent?
- Somewhat. Ember rates the violence in Not Without My Daughter as moderate.
- What did critics think of Not Without My Daughter?
- Critics generally found the film dramatically gripping and strongly performed, while objecting to its manipulative score and reductive, potentially prejudiced portrayal of Iranian and Muslim characters.
- Which films are like Not Without My Daughter?
- Films with a similar feel include The Impossible, Hotel Rwanda, Room, and The Year of Living Dangerously.
- How long is Not Without My Daughter?
- Not Without My Daughter runs 116 minutes.
- Where can I watch Not Without My Daughter?
- In United States, Not Without My Daughter streams on Amazon Prime Video, Amazon Prime Video with Ads.
