Kandahar

Viewed: 9/14/04
Written: 9/14/04


Mohsen Makhmalbaf continues to uphold the cutting edge of the new Iranian cinema with his latest work Kandahar. Like many other Iranian movies Kandahar strongly features a loose plot structure, episodic documentary-like vignettes, and gorgeous landscape photography.

Iranian film snobs may not be as thrilled with Makhmalbaf’s latest effort as they would with something a little edgier or more poetic, but Kandahar’s great strength lies in the true-to-life struggles and battles of the people who live in and around Afghanistan’s borders. The plot is simple and engaging: Nafas, a Canadian citizen returns to her homeland to prevent her little sister from committing suicide after the last eclipse of the century. This loose, beat-the-clock structure provides a travel filled with several different encounters, all rooted in fact.

Unlike many films with a social conscience, Makhmalbaf does not throw misery and hardship in our face. Instead of being forced to look at what the camera shows us we are instead made curious and want to look along with it. Makhmalbaf’s tone, while compassionate, is never angry, and therefore pleasantly objective. Indeed, nearly half the characters Nafas meets on her way to Kandahar are bandits, hucksters, religious zealots, and dishonest thieves. One scene shows us the inside of a religious school that could be easily construed as an Al-Qaida training camp. As a young boy brandishes his Kalishikov AK-47 and recites a prayer we do not see him as evil, nor is he romantically portrayed religious warrior, we just see him as a hungry kid.

The first thing that comes to mind when I think of Iranian film is a strong visual sense: poetic and heartbreakingly beautiful images that build toward the story’s tone. While I was not blown away by Kandahar’s visuals there were several instances where Mokhmalbaf’s eye amazed me. Tow instances in particular: a group of amputees hobbling towards prostheses parachuted down by Red Cross planes, and a small army of fully burqa’d women traversing an empty landscape on their way to a wedding impressed me particularly. While the former image had an acheingly realistic feel, the latter seemed completely surreal as if the singing blankets would be just as reasonable on the moon or at the bottom of the ocean.

As far as timeliness is concerned, you can’t do much better than Makhmalbaf did with Kandahar. Filmed before 9-11 and then released at a time when most of America was trying to figure out what the hell Afghanistan was it gave us a first-hand account of what that part of the world is like. I kind of feel like Kandahar would be a good movie to rent when your feeling really “tuned in” on a lazy Sunday afternoon. You can pretend you’re doing something really intellectual and productive, but you’re really just enjoying the honest human moments of the film (which is what all good movies are anyway).

Review by Brett A. Scieszka