'Heavy Metal In Baghdad'is a documentary about the first & ONLY heavy metal band in Iraq (at least,so far). That band is/was Acrassicauda (Latin for 'The Black Scorpion'),a band that wants nothing more than to rock out. If they existed in America,Europe,Asia,or even parts of Africa,no problem. The fact that the band got their start prior to the American invasion of Iraq (or as most with half a brain referred it to an unprovoked attack by Fuhrer George II) only managed to make things worse. The band had to deal with ultra strict Islamic oppression (song lyrics had to be pro Sadam & pro Islam,shows had to end as early as seven o'clock,no women allowed at performances & a host of other related b.s.). Fellow Canadian documentary film makers,Eddy Moretti & Suroosh Alvi (Vice Guide To Travel),document their trip to Iraq to see if the members of Acrassicauda were still alive & performing (under extreme duress,as air travel was very dicey, where they had to take a plane to the far northern tip of Iraq & take a connecting flight into Baghdad,at great risk),and to see what conditions are like in post Sadam Iraq. Their brevity was rewarded. They meet up with the two surviving members with the band for a series of interviews (the other members had fled to Syria,and the other surviving members would eventually follow the following year). Through video footage of performances at various venues that they could actually play at,as well as personal insights by each band member,we get to know a bit more about their lives. This is a bleak, pessimistic film about several lives who have been exposed to way too much horror and death than one person should have to deal with. The interviews are spiked with anger & bitterness over what has happened to their beloved home country & the violence & hatred toward Iraqi's that has exploded with the subsequent U.S. invasion. Another eye opening documentary for those who have seen the well produced wave of anti war documentaries since all of this transpired. Spoken in English,Arabic & heavily accented English with English subtitles. Rated 'R'by the MPAA for pervasive strong language