KANDAHAR

Kandahar is a semi-documentary film made by Iranian director Mohsen Makhmalbaf which follows the real life story of Nafas, a Canadian journalist and Afghan ex-patriate, who returns to the country of her birth after having received a letter from her sister.

Through this letter, Nafas has learnt that her sister has lost the will to live any longer under the Taliban regime, and plans to commit suicide on the night of the final lunar eclipse of the century. Thus, Nafas has returned to the middle east in a deperate search for her sister, with the hope that strangers and a fist full of American dollars will safely guide her to her sister's home in Kandahar before the night of the eclipse.

Nafas' journey takes Western audiences into a world that is almost wholly foreign, welcoming them into a middle east that is full of vibrant colours, but also great poverty and oppression; desolation, but also hope.

Nafas' path through this difficult environment is a moving labour of love, each day a new adventure during which she seeks out not only her sister, but also small remnants of hope, which she lovingly collects and intends to present to her sister as a reason to live once they finally meet.

The character of Nafas beautifully represents the life principle throughout the duration of the film, lending Kandahar a big, warm hearted humanity, played out on an epic, desert stage, in a film that is exquisitely shot and compelling to watch.

From a sociopolitical standpoint, Kandahar also provides a powerful portrait of Afghanistan as a deeply poverty stricken country crippled by more than 20 years of war, in which young boys in religious school become more expert at putting together Kalashnikov rifles than they are at reciting the Koran, and women are oppressed in every sense of the word.

For anyone with even a cursory interest in middle eastern politics, and indeed, the art of documentary filmmaking, Kandahar is a must see.

Strongly recommended.

Vanessa Long

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