Al-ayyam al-tawila (aka Long Days) (1980)

This is a reminder that Unseen Films is not just about unseen films from today, but all days.

This is about the Iraqi  coup attempt in 1959 that included Saddam Hussein. It went sideways, so he and his fellow plotters go into hiddening and are hunted by the police. Its an emotionally over done film told in a somber, over serious way that, along with its static staging makes the film feel about 10 hours long.

This movie has an official run time of 150 minutes according to IMDB but therinternet says there is a 6 hour version hidden away. It doesn't have an official release streaming and exists through sketchy versions on You Tube where 131 minute version labeled LONG DAYS has English Caption over French subtitles. Its a film I should not mention because its pure propaganda but at the same time Unseen was set up to highlight, or in this case to low light, films off the beaten path... and this is off the path.

Terrance Young, probably best known for his work for the Bond franchise, is listed as one of the directors. I have not done any research but someone on Letterboxd said they can find no actual evidence that Young worked on the film, though they mention this was around the time on INCHON,  and his name may have been used to give the film some credibility.  Certainly it's much less static than any of his other films. It does have some of the melodramic turns that he was capable of, but at the same time his films always felt more alive.

The film is a lot of seriously acted scenes with people sitting around while serious and suspenseful music plays. They change locations as the secret police come. There is always a discussion of what to do next. Saddam is figured prominently of course. It's okay, but it's not particularly compelling. There is no sense of a reason as to why this story is being told beyond because Saddam is involved. It's really just a bland attempt at a real life political thriller.

And isn't "bad" as such just indreibly dull. It's a bunch of people sitting around being serious. It feel like a stage play at times To be fair this could have been good film if it was about an hour shorter . I don't want to think what a six hour version would be like because so little "happens" that is interesting. This is a film that is all about making Saddam look good and stroke his ego because it looks like a serious movie. I've read some things that this was instrumental for helping create the cult of personality. Looking at the film now I can only imagine that happened because the regime pushed the film as something people needed to ingest.

Not recommended for general audiences- but for those who want an unseen film off the beaten path- recommended.