Kandahar
Picture: C-
Sound: C Extras: C Film: B-
It is stunning how the subject of The Middle East
slowly crept up on the world, even before the tragic events of September 11,
2001, the year in which Kandahar was released. Taped in Iran, it was unknowingly months ahead of the world’s
attention on Afghanistan. The program
would at first seem like a documentary, but it is actually a taped docudrama
with the premise of an woman of Afghan decent trying to return to her homeland
to convince her sister who still lives there.
This is the excuse the story offers to expose the
basic mistreatment of women under what we are all too well aware of as the
Taliban government. For the atrocities
we know of now, this film is no longer as outrageous or as surprising as it
likely was in its initial months. “Too
tame” is more like it.
Director Mohsen Makhmalbaf turns out to be a
veteran Iranian filmmaker, but one could imagine how hard it would have been to
get actual film cameras into the area.
This could only be taped during the day, due to the lack of electricity
in the area. The acting is not great,
with “neo-realism” a possible way of explaining the production. They used non-professional actors, but many
did not even know what a television was!
It is a real twist on that Italian world cinema movement for certain,
explaining in part why it won so many awards in its time. The story is not great and massive post 9/11
news coverage dates many parts of the program, but it is a fascinating
docudrama at its best that some may still want to see.
Fortunately, the DVD offers a good commentary by
lead actress Nelofer Pazira, who is the key reason this got made to begin
with. It would have never happened
without her. The commentary seems to
have been made before 9/11, or at least it feels like it. Some might argue American ignorance on this
critic’s part, expecting the commentary to center on 9/11, but it is key enough
that it seems almost ignored and should not be. To try to have the program take place in a vacuum is a mistake,
while it still failed not to go far enough in showing how ugly the country was
to begin with. Especially disturbing,
as we are constantly reminded, is the massive landmine problem, a chilling legacy
of the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan that helped bring the USSR down. People are getting mutilated daily by the
thousands that remain, something we do not hear enough about. No wonder the late Princess Diana shook
things up when she complained about them.
The anamorphically enhanced 16 X 9 (1.78 X 1) image
is surprisingly good, considering it came off of PAL format tape, digital or
analog. Unfortunately, this shows the
flaws of the source, but for having more people than usual handling cameras, the
look coheres well. The sound is simple
Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo for the film, which is adequate for such a production.
The commentary adds to the program, helping top
make up for some of its shortcomings, but there are a few more extras. Besides two trailers, and a decent photo
gallery, there is a 20-minutes-long segment from Canadian TV covering Pazira’s
critical success as the program circulates to various theatrical openings. 9/11 is noted in the program, but it almost
seems an insensitive reference, though not as much since the truth about
Afghanistan is not flushed out enough.
This is why Kandahar is such a strange experience. It has points to make, but its success can
be best measured by how well it eventually held up, and that is very mixed.
- Nicholas
Sheffo
