FAQ

Betty Mahmoody (Sally Field), married to Iranian "Moody" (Alfred Molina), agrees to take a two-week vacation to Iran to visit his family and introduce their daughter Mahtub (Sheila Rosenthal). Once there, Moody announces that they will be staying in Iran. Trapped in a culture that forces servitude upon women, Betty searches for a way home but refuses to leave without her daughter who, by Iranian law, belongs to Moody.

Not Without My Daughter is based on a 1991 book by Betty Mahmoody and William Hoffer that presents American Betty Mahmoody's experiences in 1984, when she and her Iranian husband "Moody" and their daughter Mahtob traveled to Iran for what was supposed to be a two-week visit. The screenplay for the movie was written by David W. Rintels. It was followed in 2002 by a Finnish-made documentary, Ilman tytärtäni (2002), that presents the story from Moody's point-of-view and details his efforts to contact his daughter Mahtob again.

The movie gives the impression that Moody was pressured by his family and the fact that he was fired two days before he, Betty, and Mahtob arrived in Iran, evidenced by the family's constant arguing with Moody until he finally gives in and decides to stay. In the book, however, Betty claims that she became suspicious during an earlier visit from Moody's nephew Reza. She admits to feeling as though Reza and Moody were already conspiring against her, even prior to her agreeing to make the trip.

In both the movie and the book, Moody swears on the Koran that Betty won't be in any danger, that they'll be back in two weeks, and that he wouldn't do anything to endanger her and Mahtob's safety. In the movie, Moody admits that he swore on the Koran because he knew that Betty would not come to Iran if he didn't. It's clear he was afraid that Betty would not agree to the two-week vacation without this assurance,

Disquised as members of an Iranian family, Betty and Mahtob are driven through the checkpoint outside of Tehran where they are transferred to a jeep and taken to a hut. There, Betty changes her clothes into more traditional peasant wear and has her passport and jewelry taken from her. The jeep carries them up into the Zagros Mountains where they are stopped again but allowed to keep going. She and Mahtob spend the night in another hut with three men, one of whom tries to sleep with Betty but is stopped by the others. In the dead of night, Betty and Mahtob are skirted around another checkpoint and left in the desert. At daybreak, a lone man with a horse fetches them and leads them over the mountains to where yet another man is waiting with a car. Betty's passport and personal items are returned to her. The final leg of escape takes them through Kurdistan to the Turkish border. A map showing the part of Iran from Tehran to the Turkish border can be viewed here.

Betty and Mahtob are dropped off in a small town in Turkey. As they walk down the street, an American flag can be seen flapping in the breeze. "We're home, baby," Betty says to Mahtob. A written epilogue states: Betty and Mahtob were re-united with their family in America on February 9th, 1986. Many women and children are held against their will in foreign countries. Betty is now a successful writer and a lecturer dedicated to helping those who find themselves in similar circumstances.

Mahtob is an adult with a Bachelor's degree in Psychology. Betty is president of "One World: For Children", which offers security and protection to children of bi-cultural marriages and works to get laws changed to protect Americans who marry nationals from other countries. Moody died on 23 August 2009 in a Tehran hospital of kidney problems and other complications. He was 70 years old.