HBO has become the go-to destination for mini-series about Iraq. On the heels of this summer’s powerful Generation Kill, comes a four episode docudrama on the life and times of everybody’s favorite modern-day murderous dictator: Saddam Hussein.
Debuting this past Sunday night, House of Saddam for the most part focuses on family dynamics inside the Hussein household. As you can imagine, things at casa de Saddam aren’t exactly like Leave It to Beaver, unless there’s a lost episode in which Beaver bludgeons Eddie Haskell to death with a cane, only to have Ward beat him senseless before tossing him into a jail cell. If that episode does exist, someone please get me a copy. I’ll pay handsomely.
The mini-series is divided into four parts. Part I details Saddam’s ascension to the presidency in 1979. With the Ayatollah Khomeini gaining influence in neighboring Iran, Saddam and his crew of cronies stage a non-violent coup d’etat to assume power in Iraq. Saddam’s first order of business as President isn’t to fund schools or improve infrastructure; instead, he decides to weed-out potential traitors by executing half of the Iraqi Congress. Seems a bit extreme, but I’m not a maniacal despot, now am I?
Hussein has some serious trust issues. Paranoia consumes his thoughts to the point where he throws his own stepbrother out of the country because he deems the man not loyal enough. However, Saddam also has a soft side – the kind of soft side that causes him to cheat on his wife with a hot blond school teacher. I had no idea the guy was a Van Halen fan.
Part II jumps ahead to 1988. Iraq — bankrupt from an interminable war with Iran — is now at odds with the tiny oil-rich nation of Kuwait. I don’t know much about this Kuwait, but apparently they have loads of cash, drive only Mercedes Benz autos, and are tight with a certain western super-power.
When he’s not planning for another ill-conceived war, Saddam is livin’ it up as the Grand Poobah of Iraq. He gets himself a sexy new wife (hot school teacher) and institutes the construction of the Crossed Sabres monument. But not everything is peachy on the homefront: eldest son Uday is beginning to display psychotic tendencies and becoming a real nuisance. As if a power-mad tyrant doesn’t have enough on his plate….
Thus far, the series is pretty entertaining. It does leave some serious gaps in the timeline but still manages to hit the meaty parts. Yigal Naor’s (Rendition) portrayal of the stoic madman is quite convincing; he provides a modicum of humanity to an otherwise monstrous character. We’re not supposed to empathize with Hussein, but his brief moments of tenderness do present an alternate side to the brutal egomaniac seen on the news for twenty-five years.
If you didn’t watch House of Saddam Sunday night, HBO will be re-airing it eight times a day for the next week. Of course, I’m exaggerating — it’s really only five times a day. At any rate, you have plenty of chances to catch it. The series will conclude next week, so I’ll be back to review the thrilling conclusion. I can’t wait to see how it ends. I wonder if Saddam lives?
Clacked by Scott Tunstall 
on Dec 09, 2008 @ 12:00 EST5EDT
I’ve watched this already. It’s good. It’s absolutely crazy because you feel like you are watching an Iraqi version of the Sopranos.