Kelsey Gilson- Response to Kandahar

          The first thing I will say about this film is that I thought it was good at keeping my attention and I enjoyed it much more than the last two films. I liked that it was more modern and included English and not strictly subtitles. I felt like I was actually watching a movie made for entertainment. I can appreciate the fact that although it was a movie made about the Middle East, it did not show war or constant fear. It made you see how the people living in the area react to the way their lives currently are. They are more cautious and less daring or trusting. They also resort to any option that can push them forward in their efforts to survive or stay safe. I could feel and understand the danger they were all in when passing through cities, towns, or across borders. The film was great at showing how deceiving people will be to get what they need or want. For example the doctor had to create a false persona in order to stay protected. The little boy had to act as a guide and even behave like a sales person. No one could easily be trusted in Afghanistan.

            I do however have some problems with the film just as the critic did in the “Picturing Change” article. I agree with him when he states that they are terrible actors. It is clear that they were not trained in being believable actors or actresses. Nafas sounded staged and like she was reading from a prompter rather than really feeling the emotions of what was happening. The doctors from the Red Cross were terrible at discussing Nafas’s situation. They kept saying the same things over and over and asking the same questions. Nafas kept asking if they had someone to help her and they just kept saying no. Both Nafas and the doctors made the discussion seem awkward and stiff. It felt like they had a language barrier keeping them from communicating. My problem with that is that they were all speaking English so it should not have been a problem. The critic also stated that the characters were underdeveloped and did not have enough of a back story. I do agree with that claim in the sense that I wanted to know more and be able to connect with the characters. However, I can see that the filmmaker kept it somewhat mysterious in that aspect because the culture itself is so closed up and restrictive. The women do not openly discuss their lives and the men stay secretive in order to not risk confrontation. It is better to share as little personal information as you can so that others do not use it against you. The filmmaker portrays some of the characters as trustworthy while others have sketchiness about them. I think that it why their lives were so concealed.