Made by Iranian filmmaker Mohsen Makhmalbaf before 9/11, the story follows Nafas (Nelofer Pazira), an Afgani-born Canadian journalist, who sneaks into Afghanistan during the reign of the Taliban to rescue her crippled sister who has vowed to commit suicide on the first eclipse of the new millennium.
In reality the plot serves as a framework to present vignettes of what life was like under the Taliban rule. However, Nafas’ dogged determination to get to Kandahar and save her sister does create a surprisingly emotional core to the film. As a woman, Nafas has to wear a burqua that covers her entire body and must find men to help her travel across the country.
Her first is a trader, who has Nafas pose as one of his wives. He’s conservative and follows the traditions of the Taliban, but will take Nafas for the right price. In this Afghanistan, anything can be bought and sold because most people are starving.
Next Nafas pays a failed Islam student Khak (Sadou Teymouri) to take her to Kandahar, but the young man’s motives are always in question. It’s fascinating to see him in school where he has no clue what he is doing, but the alternative to extremism is far worse.
Later Nafas meets disillusioned doctor Tabib Sahid (Hassan Tantai), a black American who came to Afghanistan to find God. The way he is forced to practice medicine is incredibly asinine. Finally, Nafas is led by a man who mysteriously claims that he has lost his arm to a landmine in a country where thieves have their hands chopped off.
The acting is crude, but the film never suffers from it. At times, it actually adds to the believability. The cinematography is beautiful.
The story is a damning look into an oppressive society that is hard to believe. The ending is very unexpectedly somber, but it makes complete sense as an ending to Nafas’ story.
What I’d strongly like to point out is that this film was made by an Iranian. The U.S. and many other countries love to demonize Iran, which often whitewashes the diversity of a country. One should remember that this is a country that was democratically moving toward a more progressive society and then the leaders changed the rules so that progressive politicians couldn’t run for office. Hmmm… politicians changing the rules when they're going to lose sounds a lot like… but I digress.
A lot of progressive cinema is coming out of Iran, a country that is struggling between the ultra-conservative leaders who run the place and the younger society who want change. Films like KANDAHAR remind us that progressive, diverse thought is not solely a part of Western society, despite what our politicians may lead us to believe.
Rick DeMott
Animation World Network
Creator of Rick's Flicks Picks
