Reading Varzi's article, Mohsen Makhmalbaf's "Kandahar" helped give me a better understanding of the film. At first, I had no idea of what was going on and the point of the whole film.The images I first saw shocked me; it seemed like a different planet. The people of the area, especially the children, seem brainwashed. They do what they are told exactly, like recite the Quran or learn to use a gun. They are also forced to be highly alert for landmines from when they are born, basically. They will do anything for money or food, like the young boy trying to sell the ring to Nafas. Of course, since children are taught these things from a young age, they think they are doing nothing wrong.
All of the people living in this society, however, think nothing of the way they live. The people live off of barely anything and are struggling to find food to eat. Although our view of what "starving people" are is children lying along the roads looking like skin and bones, the people of this society work and seem healthy. In the article, it discusses how the woman who visited the doctor thought she had cholera, when in fact she was just famished. That detail was hard to pick up on. Our minds are so sheltered to what we see on television that we are unaware of cultures like this, one of the reasons being this nation does not allow broadcasts.
I personally could never imagine
living in a world where I wasn't allowed to show my face, just because I
am a woman. Living in fear of being blown up is not the most ideal
society to live in either. Although Varzi's article criticizes the way the actors portrayed their characters and the society, the images are still a culture-shock for me. I am so sheltered by a nice home, available food, feeling safe, and even paved roads. Yes, I agree with Varzi that the main character could have been more enthusiastic. She is, after all, trying to save her sister, so one would think she would be more passionate about getting to Kandahar. What frustrates me the most about the film, is that we never find out if Nafas reached her sister in time. Is she continuing her journey to her? Did her sister actually kill herself? Does her documented expedition ever get published? After the film ended I felt more confused and it left me wanting more, which perhaps was the point.
ReplyDeleteI like that you pointed out the detail about the woman who believed she had cholera because I did not pick up on that until I did the reading as well. If that detail was better emphasized in the film, I think it would have made a bigger impression to the movie as a whole. It’s certainly a jolt to our way of thinking, because like you said, when someone is described as starving, I picture people who are sick and rail thin…not the way the starving people were portrayed in the film. It’s sad to think that people were so sick that they went to the doctors and were simply given bread because they needed to eat. It’s upsetting, which could have been the point in the director including those scenes.