For some of you who have
witnessed the great Iranian and Far Eastern cinema for some time this movie
might feel a bit familiar. But there is nothing familiar about its story and
the very emotional approach of it. This speaks of a family who is struck by
poverty and the cruelness of the bitter politics which is currently faced by
the people of Afghanistan. And it strongly portrays the mighty thrust the
religious beliefs force upon them and the traditional thinking following it. The
first half of the movie strongly portrays the fate of women in the region where
man dominates their life start from thinking to dressing. In this part a the
movie concentrates on a woman who is the member of this homeless family moving
from place to place to find their solace as the key character. We find her
secretly going to school where as her father believes that school is not for
woman. And then she dreams of becoming the president someday to end the cruel
regime and mistreating the people, especially woman.
On the latter part the story
becomes more centered upon the father an old man beaten up by life still
struggling to keep his daughters and the new born grandchild alive. Clearly he
fails at many times and finds his peace by speaking to his only friend a horse.
The one sided conversations between this man and the horse shows the bitterness
the man feels about everything he wants to fix.
Amidst all this drama the viewer
feels the harsh reality of a set of people face day in and day out in a region
still caught in between power, religion and politics. While million dollar air
crafts are sent to bombard them by the richer they remain empty at heart and
stomach. Death seems to be the only certain thing beyond the life they never go
to live fully. This movie is a strong drama no doubt. Before conclusion I wish
there was more profound acting done here. The acting is raw and quite good but
I don’t find it to be truly emotional. Most of the time actors look numb and
muttering lines without feelings. I don’t know if that’s how the director
wanted it but for most of us a tear or two from the characters would have made
lot of sense.
