Perhaps you're right, Tee;for a reverse scenario, check this out:
Assassination of Jesse James
Overall: 75%
Cream of the Crop: 59%
The Kite Runner
-
Mister Tee
- Tenured Laureate
- Posts: 8648
- Joined: Wed Jan 01, 2003 2:57 pm
- Location: NYC
- Contact:
I'm really concerned about this film making a big showing -- it's going to really win over the "Give me a movie with HEART" crowd (Atonement doesn't seem to be kitschy enough for them).
But here's something I found interesting when I glanced at Rotten Tomatoes earlier: the Cream of the Crop critics are behind it at an 80% positive clip (Travers, Ebert and the trades are prominently displayed) -- but reviews overall are a paltry 53% thumbs-up. It's become commonplace for the unwashed bloggers in politics to be ahead of the curve as compared to the DC establishment press. Could a similar thing be happening in film (akin to the dethroming of Bosley Crowther in the 60s) -- with the established names falling for old-time crapola and the new generation calling them out on it?
But here's something I found interesting when I glanced at Rotten Tomatoes earlier: the Cream of the Crop critics are behind it at an 80% positive clip (Travers, Ebert and the trades are prominently displayed) -- but reviews overall are a paltry 53% thumbs-up. It's become commonplace for the unwashed bloggers in politics to be ahead of the curve as compared to the DC establishment press. Could a similar thing be happening in film (akin to the dethroming of Bosley Crowther in the 60s) -- with the established names falling for old-time crapola and the new generation calling them out on it?
-
Mister Tee
- Tenured Laureate
- Posts: 8648
- Joined: Wed Jan 01, 2003 2:57 pm
- Location: NYC
- Contact:
Hollywood Reporter
Frank Scheck (whoever the hell that is)
Director Marc Forster's highly effective and straightforward adaptation of Khaled Hosseini's international best-seller "The Kite Runner" already has garnered news because of a rape scene involving one of its young actors. That has resulted in a delay of its theatrical release. But the controversy aside, the film is a faithful rendition of a beloved book that should garner critical and award recognition and the attention of discerning audiences.
The story is told in three distinct sections. The first, set in 1978 Afghanistan, concerns the fateful friendship of two young boys: Amir (Zekeria Ebrahimi), who lives with his sophisticated, well-heeled widower father Baba (Homayoun Ershadi), and Hassan (Ahmad Khan Mahmidzada), the son of his father's faithful servant. The two 12-year-olds share a close bond, thanks to their common love of American action movies and kite flying.
But when Hassan runs afoul of some neighborhood bullies and subsequently is sexually violated by one of them -- Forster films this scene in a discreet but effective manner -- Amir is too frightened to intervene and keeps silent afterward. This failure to act haunts him throughout the years, even after he and his father have relocated to California in the aftermath of the Soviet invasion.
Cut to a decade later, when the now-adult Amir (Khalid Abdalla) is an aspiring writer and his father is a gas-station attendant. When Amir meets the daughter (Atossa Leoni) of another Afghan expatriate, the pair fall in love and get married after an old-fashioned arranged courtship.
In the last section, set in 2000, Amir is now a published author and happy, despite the death of his father and the couple's childlessness. But his contentment is interrupted by a call from an old family friend (Shaun Toub) who informs him that the now-deceased Hassan had a young son (Ali Dinesh) who was abandoned to an orphanage. The still-guilt-ridden Amir thus travels to the now dangerous city of Kabul in order to rescue the boy, who bears an unexpected connection to him, and bring him to America.
Benioff's faithful if necessarily condensed screenplay adaptation handles well the book's complex narrative and is particularly effective in its sensitive middle portrait of its culturally dislocated characters. If the melodramatic final section, in which Amir personally encounters the violent horrors of the Taliban regime, feels rushed and not entirely convincing, the sheer dramatic force of the events compensates for its contrived elements.
With the not-surprising exception of the lyrical kite-flying sequences, Forster's direction is understated and all the more effective for it. He also has elicited wonderfully naturalistic performances from his trio of child actors, as well as from the low-key but highly effective Abdalla in the lead role and the effortlessly charismatic and commanding Ershadi as the highly principled father.
The film feels totally convincing in all its technical aspects, including its use of Chinese locations to double for the story's Afghan setting.
Frank Scheck (whoever the hell that is)
Director Marc Forster's highly effective and straightforward adaptation of Khaled Hosseini's international best-seller "The Kite Runner" already has garnered news because of a rape scene involving one of its young actors. That has resulted in a delay of its theatrical release. But the controversy aside, the film is a faithful rendition of a beloved book that should garner critical and award recognition and the attention of discerning audiences.
The story is told in three distinct sections. The first, set in 1978 Afghanistan, concerns the fateful friendship of two young boys: Amir (Zekeria Ebrahimi), who lives with his sophisticated, well-heeled widower father Baba (Homayoun Ershadi), and Hassan (Ahmad Khan Mahmidzada), the son of his father's faithful servant. The two 12-year-olds share a close bond, thanks to their common love of American action movies and kite flying.
But when Hassan runs afoul of some neighborhood bullies and subsequently is sexually violated by one of them -- Forster films this scene in a discreet but effective manner -- Amir is too frightened to intervene and keeps silent afterward. This failure to act haunts him throughout the years, even after he and his father have relocated to California in the aftermath of the Soviet invasion.
Cut to a decade later, when the now-adult Amir (Khalid Abdalla) is an aspiring writer and his father is a gas-station attendant. When Amir meets the daughter (Atossa Leoni) of another Afghan expatriate, the pair fall in love and get married after an old-fashioned arranged courtship.
In the last section, set in 2000, Amir is now a published author and happy, despite the death of his father and the couple's childlessness. But his contentment is interrupted by a call from an old family friend (Shaun Toub) who informs him that the now-deceased Hassan had a young son (Ali Dinesh) who was abandoned to an orphanage. The still-guilt-ridden Amir thus travels to the now dangerous city of Kabul in order to rescue the boy, who bears an unexpected connection to him, and bring him to America.
Benioff's faithful if necessarily condensed screenplay adaptation handles well the book's complex narrative and is particularly effective in its sensitive middle portrait of its culturally dislocated characters. If the melodramatic final section, in which Amir personally encounters the violent horrors of the Taliban regime, feels rushed and not entirely convincing, the sheer dramatic force of the events compensates for its contrived elements.
With the not-surprising exception of the lyrical kite-flying sequences, Forster's direction is understated and all the more effective for it. He also has elicited wonderfully naturalistic performances from his trio of child actors, as well as from the low-key but highly effective Abdalla in the lead role and the effortlessly charismatic and commanding Ershadi as the highly principled father.
The film feels totally convincing in all its technical aspects, including its use of Chinese locations to double for the story's Afghan setting.
-
rolotomasi99
- Professor
- Posts: 2108
- Joined: Wed Jan 29, 2003 4:13 pm
- Location: n/a
- Contact:
i may be, but at least i would never harm a child for portraying a rape victim, or being a rape victim for that matter.Sonic Youth wrote:You silly little troll.
"When it comes to the subject of torture, I trust a woman who was married to James Cameron for three years."
-- Amy Poehler in praise of Zero Dark Thirty director Kathryn Bigelow
-- Amy Poehler in praise of Zero Dark Thirty director Kathryn Bigelow
-
Mister Tee
- Tenured Laureate
- Posts: 8648
- Joined: Wed Jan 01, 2003 2:57 pm
- Location: NYC
- Contact:
I don't know what it is with the trades suddenly assigning no-name critics to front-line films. I'd be mistrustful of this review even if it were Todd McCarthy (alot of seemingly reliable folk raved about the book, too), but Alissa Simon?
The Kite Runner
By ALISSA SIMON
Khalid Abdalla, left, who plays the adult writer Amir, flies a kite with Ali Danesh Bakhtyari in Marc Forster's 'The Kite Runner.'
A Paramount Classics release of a DreamWorks Pictures, Sidney Kimmel Entertainment, Participant Prods. presentation, of a Sidney Kimmel Entertainment, Parkes/MacDonald production. Produced by William Horberg, Walter F. Parkes, Rebecca Yeldham, E. Bennett Walsh. Executive producers, Kimmel, Laurie MacDonald, Sam Mendes, Jeff Skoll. Co-executive producer, Bruce Toll. Directed by Marc Forster. Screenplay, David Benioff, based on the novel by Khaled Hosseini.
Amir - Khalid Abdalla
Baba - Homayoun Ershadi
Young Amir - Zekiria Ebrahimi
Young Hassan - Ahmad Khan
Mahmoodzada
Rahim Khan - Shaun Toub
Ali - Nabi Tanha
Sohrab - Ali Danesh Bakhtyari
Farid - Said Taghmaoui
Soraya - Atossa Leoni
General Taher - Abdul Qadir Farookh
Jamila - Maimoona Ghizal
Assef - Abdul Salam Yusoufzai
Young Assef - Elham Ehsas
An Afghan emigre returns to his homeland to redeem his sins -- and those of his father -- in "The Kite Runner." With careful nurturing, helmer Marc Forster's richly detailed screen translation of Khaled Hosseini's beloved bestseller should reach beyond the book's many fans. Nuanced perfs and standout production design convey story in cinematic terms, preserving the narrative's emotional power and historical sweep as it spans continents and decades. While the largely unknown cast and subtitled dialogue may present a marketing challenge, they also create a feeling of authenticity in this poignant, intimate epic, which should attract a strong following among discerning audiences.
Paramount Vantage, which is rolling out "The Kite Runner" under its Paramount Classics label, has delayed the pic's release by six weeks owing to a rape scene featuring young Afghan thesp Ahmad Khan Mahmoodzada. New release date -- Dec. 14, after the end of the boy's school year -- is a response to expressed fears that he could be attacked for his participation in the scene.
Deft adaptation by David Benioff ("25th Hour," "Troy") condenses cast of characters and events, but incorporates nearly all the novel's major moments, while the dialogue, much of it lifted directly from the page, finds a natural balance between English and Dari delivery. Most noticeable change -- the absence of a first-person narrator -- serves to make the visuals an equal purveyor of narrative information.
Central idea -- that no matter what a person's done in the past, there's an opportunity for a second chance -- provides a universally resonant emotional hook for protag's journey from cowardice to courage.
Pic is divided into three parts, with the longest piece outlining the character's youth in Afghanistan before the Soviet invasion. Fascinating midsection, set in California's expat community during the late 1980s, gets somewhat short shrift compared to the book. Final segment, also much abridged, skips ahead 12 years to bring his odyssey full circle.
Tale begins in San Francisco in 2000, as writer Amir (Khalid Abdalla) is summoned by phone to the Pakistani sickbed of his father's friend. Latter's enigmatic promise, "There's a way to be good again," speaks to the younger man's long-simmering sense of guilt.
Cut to cosmopolitan Kabul in 1978, where privileged 12-year-old Amir (Zekiria Ebrahimi) and his faithful companion/servant, Hassan (Ahmad Khan Mahmoodzada), run freely through the Afghan capital. Contrasts in their dress, dwellings and vocabulary clearly evoke the difference between city's affluent Pashtun majority and denigrated Hazara minority.
A sensitive only child whose mother died in childbirth, Amir yearns for the affection of his emotionally distant father, Baba (Homayoun Ershadi, "A Taste of Cherry"), and feels jealous whenever Hassan earns his praise. He relates more easily to empathetic family friend Rahim Khan (Shaun Toub, "Crash").
Kabul's annual kite-fighting competition offers an opportunity for Amir to earn Baba's respect, but also sets the stage for the lad's failure to rescue Hassan, who's brutalized by neighborhood bullies (in a scene not quite as explicit as it is in the book). Amir's sense of shame soon leads to a second, more definitive betrayal.
It's this shame that haunts Amir over the years, catalyzing a dangerous journey to Taliban-controlled Kabul in 2000. Here, in stark contrast to the melting pot of cultures and colors of the 1970s, the grim, gray production design forcefully depicts the devastation wrought over the years. Broken buildings rot in disrepair, with no vegetation to be seen. Cripples sell their artificial legs to feed their families, and public executions take place in the soccer stadium.
The climactic surprises that await Amir in Kabul, which were already credulity-straining in the book, remain so in the film, but fast-paced action helps suspend disbelief. Epilogue provides a satisfying conclusion to pic's focus on family connections.
Cogent production design is matched by convincing perfs from the entire cast, all of Middle Eastern ancestry. As the adult Amir, Abdalla ("United 93"), in his first leading role, creates a sympathetic, multidimensional character that remains believable even in the most melodramatic situations. Ershadi's Baba is not the great bear of a man described in the book, but he successfully projects the character's outsize personality and physical courage. Toub makes wise Khan the perfect foil.
Remarkable nonpro child thesps Ebrahimi and Mahmoodzada perfectly embody the ethnic differences and class tensions between Amir and Hassan, as well as the chemistry of brotherhood.
Pic's emphasis on Amir's early relationships leaves relatively little screen time for his wife Soraya (Atossa Leoni) and her parents, characters who further illustrate Afghan traditions of honor and pride.
Shot on location in the Western Chinese desert that borders Afghanistan, the film marks the first use of China to portray another country. Ace widescreen lensing by Roberto Schaefer makes aerial shots of swooping, feinting kites pic's leitmotif.
Only clunker among tech credits is Alberto Iglesias' overly insistent score.
The Kite Runner
By ALISSA SIMON
Khalid Abdalla, left, who plays the adult writer Amir, flies a kite with Ali Danesh Bakhtyari in Marc Forster's 'The Kite Runner.'
A Paramount Classics release of a DreamWorks Pictures, Sidney Kimmel Entertainment, Participant Prods. presentation, of a Sidney Kimmel Entertainment, Parkes/MacDonald production. Produced by William Horberg, Walter F. Parkes, Rebecca Yeldham, E. Bennett Walsh. Executive producers, Kimmel, Laurie MacDonald, Sam Mendes, Jeff Skoll. Co-executive producer, Bruce Toll. Directed by Marc Forster. Screenplay, David Benioff, based on the novel by Khaled Hosseini.
Amir - Khalid Abdalla
Baba - Homayoun Ershadi
Young Amir - Zekiria Ebrahimi
Young Hassan - Ahmad Khan
Mahmoodzada
Rahim Khan - Shaun Toub
Ali - Nabi Tanha
Sohrab - Ali Danesh Bakhtyari
Farid - Said Taghmaoui
Soraya - Atossa Leoni
General Taher - Abdul Qadir Farookh
Jamila - Maimoona Ghizal
Assef - Abdul Salam Yusoufzai
Young Assef - Elham Ehsas
An Afghan emigre returns to his homeland to redeem his sins -- and those of his father -- in "The Kite Runner." With careful nurturing, helmer Marc Forster's richly detailed screen translation of Khaled Hosseini's beloved bestseller should reach beyond the book's many fans. Nuanced perfs and standout production design convey story in cinematic terms, preserving the narrative's emotional power and historical sweep as it spans continents and decades. While the largely unknown cast and subtitled dialogue may present a marketing challenge, they also create a feeling of authenticity in this poignant, intimate epic, which should attract a strong following among discerning audiences.
Paramount Vantage, which is rolling out "The Kite Runner" under its Paramount Classics label, has delayed the pic's release by six weeks owing to a rape scene featuring young Afghan thesp Ahmad Khan Mahmoodzada. New release date -- Dec. 14, after the end of the boy's school year -- is a response to expressed fears that he could be attacked for his participation in the scene.
Deft adaptation by David Benioff ("25th Hour," "Troy") condenses cast of characters and events, but incorporates nearly all the novel's major moments, while the dialogue, much of it lifted directly from the page, finds a natural balance between English and Dari delivery. Most noticeable change -- the absence of a first-person narrator -- serves to make the visuals an equal purveyor of narrative information.
Central idea -- that no matter what a person's done in the past, there's an opportunity for a second chance -- provides a universally resonant emotional hook for protag's journey from cowardice to courage.
Pic is divided into three parts, with the longest piece outlining the character's youth in Afghanistan before the Soviet invasion. Fascinating midsection, set in California's expat community during the late 1980s, gets somewhat short shrift compared to the book. Final segment, also much abridged, skips ahead 12 years to bring his odyssey full circle.
Tale begins in San Francisco in 2000, as writer Amir (Khalid Abdalla) is summoned by phone to the Pakistani sickbed of his father's friend. Latter's enigmatic promise, "There's a way to be good again," speaks to the younger man's long-simmering sense of guilt.
Cut to cosmopolitan Kabul in 1978, where privileged 12-year-old Amir (Zekiria Ebrahimi) and his faithful companion/servant, Hassan (Ahmad Khan Mahmoodzada), run freely through the Afghan capital. Contrasts in their dress, dwellings and vocabulary clearly evoke the difference between city's affluent Pashtun majority and denigrated Hazara minority.
A sensitive only child whose mother died in childbirth, Amir yearns for the affection of his emotionally distant father, Baba (Homayoun Ershadi, "A Taste of Cherry"), and feels jealous whenever Hassan earns his praise. He relates more easily to empathetic family friend Rahim Khan (Shaun Toub, "Crash").
Kabul's annual kite-fighting competition offers an opportunity for Amir to earn Baba's respect, but also sets the stage for the lad's failure to rescue Hassan, who's brutalized by neighborhood bullies (in a scene not quite as explicit as it is in the book). Amir's sense of shame soon leads to a second, more definitive betrayal.
It's this shame that haunts Amir over the years, catalyzing a dangerous journey to Taliban-controlled Kabul in 2000. Here, in stark contrast to the melting pot of cultures and colors of the 1970s, the grim, gray production design forcefully depicts the devastation wrought over the years. Broken buildings rot in disrepair, with no vegetation to be seen. Cripples sell their artificial legs to feed their families, and public executions take place in the soccer stadium.
The climactic surprises that await Amir in Kabul, which were already credulity-straining in the book, remain so in the film, but fast-paced action helps suspend disbelief. Epilogue provides a satisfying conclusion to pic's focus on family connections.
Cogent production design is matched by convincing perfs from the entire cast, all of Middle Eastern ancestry. As the adult Amir, Abdalla ("United 93"), in his first leading role, creates a sympathetic, multidimensional character that remains believable even in the most melodramatic situations. Ershadi's Baba is not the great bear of a man described in the book, but he successfully projects the character's outsize personality and physical courage. Toub makes wise Khan the perfect foil.
Remarkable nonpro child thesps Ebrahimi and Mahmoodzada perfectly embody the ethnic differences and class tensions between Amir and Hassan, as well as the chemistry of brotherhood.
Pic's emphasis on Amir's early relationships leaves relatively little screen time for his wife Soraya (Atossa Leoni) and her parents, characters who further illustrate Afghan traditions of honor and pride.
Shot on location in the Western Chinese desert that borders Afghanistan, the film marks the first use of China to portray another country. Ace widescreen lensing by Roberto Schaefer makes aerial shots of swooping, feinting kites pic's leitmotif.
Only clunker among tech credits is Alberto Iglesias' overly insistent score.
-
Big Magilla
- Site Admin
- Posts: 19337
- Joined: Wed Jan 01, 2003 3:22 pm
- Location: Jersey Shore
From comments made by Marc Foster and others, it's clear that the family knew about the rape scene from the very beginning. The father even watched the first of two rehearsals of the scene.
I think one of two things has since happened. Either the father has developed some sort of guilt or he's hoping to get his family out of Afghanistan and into a nicer/better/easier way of life in the U.S.
Of course they know what moives are in Afghanistan, though more people apparently watch films on pirated DVDs than in theatres. The concern is not that the film will be seen in theaters in that country, but that pirated DVDs will make their way into the hands of the boy's potential oppressors.
As for the publicity, it could help the film in the short run as people go to see it out of curiosity, but hurt it in the long run as AMPAS and other awards giver steer clear of the controversy.
I think one of two things has since happened. Either the father has developed some sort of guilt or he's hoping to get his family out of Afghanistan and into a nicer/better/easier way of life in the U.S.
Of course they know what moives are in Afghanistan, though more people apparently watch films on pirated DVDs than in theatres. The concern is not that the film will be seen in theaters in that country, but that pirated DVDs will make their way into the hands of the boy's potential oppressors.
As for the publicity, it could help the film in the short run as people go to see it out of curiosity, but hurt it in the long run as AMPAS and other awards giver steer clear of the controversy.
-
Sonic Youth
- Tenured Laureate
- Posts: 8005
- Joined: Wed Jan 01, 2003 8:35 pm
- Location: USA
You silly little troll.rolotomasi99 wrote:are you accusing me of making up that website i gave the link to? that links says there is a film industry in afghanistan. you should write to them and tell them they are liars. let them know their pathetic little films cannot compare to india's (the largest in the world according to guinness book of world records).
it is probably my catholic school background that is causing my confusion. whenever i was taught about mother teresa, i was told she was helping the poorest of the poor in calcutta. from now on, though, if anyone says that i will tell them, "no, according to sonic youth those people are not poor. at least not compared to the poor in afghanistan." ???
you did a very thorough job of ripping my post apart, but somehow missed my two main questions:
1) why are the people of afghanistan too stupid to understand the rape scene is not real?
2) why would they be cruel enough to harrass the boy and his family for being raped?
that was my main problem with the article, and then you went off on how the people of india are so much better off and smarter than the people of afghanistan. :p
since you seem to know india so well, sonic youth, answer me this: would everyone in india (not just a few disturbed individuals) harrass and harm a young boy and his family if they thought he was raped? if so, then that country is one evil place and you should get your family out of there quickly.
something about the article just seems fishy. it is saying the people of afghanistan do not understand what a movie is because they do not watch them, but somehow they will watch this one. ??? it is also saying the people of afghanistan are horrid monsters that harm children for being raped.
"What the hell?"
Win Butler
Win Butler
-
rolotomasi99
- Professor
- Posts: 2108
- Joined: Wed Jan 29, 2003 4:13 pm
- Location: n/a
- Contact:
i read the same thing...and thought exactly what you just said.Mister Tee wrote:Pardon my cynicism, but I read in the NY Times today that the studio, trying to rescue the Afghan boys, will delay release until after their school year, and open the film in late December -- and all I can think is, what an extraordinary coincidence: get all that publicity and still open right in time for an Oscar campaign.
But, then, I'm wary of this movie from the get-go. It has the theoretical handicap of not being in English, but is otherwise the nightmare-sentimental threat that always screws up the Oscars -- a cloying story that probably fancies itself edgy, read by millions of the undiscerning, directed by the master of bland Marc Forster. If that doesn't stink of Oscar, I don't know what does.
hopefully the older voters in the academy that love this shite are having less influence. movies that show characters overcome obstacles and succeeding in the end are showing up less and less in the best picture line up. movies like THE PURSUIT OF HAPPYNESS, DREAMGIRLS, WALK THE LINE, CINDERELLA MAN, etc. are making room for darker visions of humanity like THE DEPARTED, BABEL, CAPOTE, MILLION DOLLAR BABY, LETTERS FROM IWO JIMA, et al.
yeah, there are still the occasional LITTLE MISS SUNSHINE, and just a few years ago we had RAY and FINDING NEVERLAND. however, these films have far less presence on the whole in the best picture field.
basically what i am saying is i hope this movie is completely shut out of the oscars, and with the recent voting pattern i am confident that could actually happen.
"When it comes to the subject of torture, I trust a woman who was married to James Cameron for three years."
-- Amy Poehler in praise of Zero Dark Thirty director Kathryn Bigelow
-- Amy Poehler in praise of Zero Dark Thirty director Kathryn Bigelow
-
Mister Tee
- Tenured Laureate
- Posts: 8648
- Joined: Wed Jan 01, 2003 2:57 pm
- Location: NYC
- Contact:
Pardon my cynicism, but I read in the NY Times today that the studio, trying to rescue the Afghan boys, will delay release until after their school year, and open the film in late December -- and all I can think is, what an extraordinary coincidence: get all that publicity and still open right in time for an Oscar campaign.
But, then, I'm wary of this movie from the get-go. It has the theoretical handicap of not being in English, but is otherwise the nightmare-sentimental threat that always screws up the Oscars -- a cloying story that probably fancies itself edgy, read by millions of the undiscerning, directed by the master of bland Marc Forster. If that doesn't stink of Oscar, I don't know what does.
But, then, I'm wary of this movie from the get-go. It has the theoretical handicap of not being in English, but is otherwise the nightmare-sentimental threat that always screws up the Oscars -- a cloying story that probably fancies itself edgy, read by millions of the undiscerning, directed by the master of bland Marc Forster. If that doesn't stink of Oscar, I don't know what does.
-
rolotomasi99
- Professor
- Posts: 2108
- Joined: Wed Jan 29, 2003 4:13 pm
- Location: n/a
- Contact:
yeah, but TORA! TORA! TORA! was a joint u.s./japanese film.dws1982 wrote:I never said that it wasn't about Afghanistan. I said that it doesn't apply as an example of the Afghan film industry, since it wasn't made by Afghan filmmakers, and wasn't made in Afghanistan. It is an Iranian film, about Afghanistan, just like Letters From Iwo Jima is an American film about Japan.
similarly, when i saw KANDAHAR at a small film festival the person introducing the movie said the parts filmed secretely in afghanistan were shot by afghani filmmakers, since the iranian director could not cross the border.
like you, i could not find any article supporting this. maybe the person introducing the film was lying. i remember reading similar accounts in reviews of the film, but the critics do not cite where that information came from. maybe it was just made up by the filmmaker and/or distributor to bring publicity to the film.
however, it is because of that story that i included in my very short list of afghani films i had seen. sorry if that pissed you off.
"When it comes to the subject of torture, I trust a woman who was married to James Cameron for three years."
-- Amy Poehler in praise of Zero Dark Thirty director Kathryn Bigelow
-- Amy Poehler in praise of Zero Dark Thirty director Kathryn Bigelow
-
rolotomasi99
- Professor
- Posts: 2108
- Joined: Wed Jan 29, 2003 4:13 pm
- Location: n/a
- Contact:
are you accusing me of making up that website i gave the link to? that links says there is a film industry in afghanistan. you should write to them and tell them they are liars. let them know their pathetic little films cannot compare to india's (the largest in the world according to guinness book of world records).Sonic Youth wrote:rolotomasi99 wrote:i think the makers of OSAMA and [a non-Afghani film] would disagree that there is no film industry in afghanistan.
Actually, the maker of OSAMA (the only Afghani film you names) would agree with me that there hadn't been a film industry in his country for over ten years before he made the film.
it is very, very tiny, and slowly growing, but it exists.
Ergo, NO Afghan industry. Especially not when compared to India's which makes 900 movies a year.
Thus, no comparison between the two can be brooked, thank you.
are you saying people in calcutta are more well off than every single person in afghanistan?
Just me, and possibly the State Department, the CIA factbook and most charitable organizations. Do they count?
India has the fastest rising middle-class in that part of the world. And yes, there are lots of poor people. I've been there. I'm going there again in a few months. I have family there. I have a stong, rooting interest in what goes on in the country.
And by all accounts, it doesn't compare with Afghanistan's plight.
yet, even the poorest of the poor in india either have seen a movie or know what one is. i just thought it was an egregious statement to equate being poor with not understanding the concept of a fictional film.
Yes, I understand your reasoning. You're wrong, to be blunt.
The poorest of the poor in India live in a country with more wealthy people and a film industry that's the largest in the world. The poorest of the poor in Afghanistan live in a country with virtually ZERO movie industry, no theaters for many years, and a theocratic society for decades that has declared such leisure activities as sinful.
As I said, no comparison. Afghanistan is far more economically and culturally poor than India.
yes, most afghanis are poor, but they are not "the people that time forgot."
Taliban banning movies, banning outside cultural influences, veilling women, banning the internet, banning free media, speech and religious practices.
Oh yes they are.
it is probably my catholic school background that is causing my confusion. whenever i was taught about mother teresa, i was told she was helping the poorest of the poor in calcutta. from now on, though, if anyone says that i will tell them, "no, according to sonic youth those people are not poor. at least not compared to the poor in afghanistan." ???
you did a very thorough job of ripping my post apart, but somehow missed my two main questions:
1) why are the people of afghanistan too stupid to understand the rape scene is not real?
2) why would they be cruel enough to harrass the boy and his family for being raped?
that was my main problem with the article, and then you went off on how the people of india are so much better off and smarter than the people of afghanistan. :p
since you seem to know india so well, sonic youth, answer me this: would everyone in india (not just a few disturbed individuals) harrass and harm a young boy and his family if they thought he was raped? if so, then that country is one evil place and you should get your family out of there quickly.
something about the article just seems fishy. it is saying the people of afghanistan do not understand what a movie is because they do not watch them, but somehow they will watch this one. ??? it is also saying the people of afghanistan are horrid monsters that harm children for being raped.
it sounds like the kid would be better off living in totalitarian iran. at least people there know what a movie is."When it comes to the subject of torture, I trust a woman who was married to James Cameron for three years."
-- Amy Poehler in praise of Zero Dark Thirty director Kathryn Bigelow
-- Amy Poehler in praise of Zero Dark Thirty director Kathryn Bigelow
-
Sonic Youth
- Tenured Laureate
- Posts: 8005
- Joined: Wed Jan 01, 2003 8:35 pm
- Location: USA
rolotomasi99 wrote:i think the makers of OSAMA and [a non-Afghani film] would disagree that there is no film industry in afghanistan.
Actually, the maker of OSAMA (the only Afghani film you names) would agree with me that there hadn't been a film industry in his country for over ten years before he made the film.
it is very, very tiny, and slowly growing, but it exists.
Ergo, NO Afghan industry. Especially not when compared to India's which makes 900 movies a year.
Thus, no comparison between the two can be brooked, thank you.
are you saying people in calcutta are more well off than every single person in afghanistan?
Just me, and possibly the State Department, the CIA factbook and most charitable organizations. Do they count?
India has the fastest rising middle-class in that part of the world. And yes, there are lots of poor people. I've been there. I'm going there again in a few months. I have family there. I have a stong, rooting interest in what goes on in the country.
And by all accounts, it doesn't compare with Afghanistan's plight.
yet, even the poorest of the poor in india either have seen a movie or know what one is. i just thought it was an egregious statement to equate being poor with not understanding the concept of a fictional film.
Yes, I understand your reasoning. You're wrong, to be blunt.
The poorest of the poor in India live in a country with more wealthy people and a film industry that's the largest in the world. The poorest of the poor in Afghanistan live in a country with virtually ZERO movie industry, no theaters for many years, and a theocratic society for decades that has declared such leisure activities as sinful.
As I said, no comparison. Afghanistan is far more economically and culturally poor than India.
yes, most afghanis are poor, but they are not "the people that time forgot."
Taliban banning movies, banning outside cultural influences, veilling women, banning the internet, banning free media, speech and religious practices.
Oh yes they are.
"What the hell?"
Win Butler
Win Butler
I never said that it wasn't about Afghanistan. I said that it doesn't apply as an example of the Afghan film industry, since it wasn't made by Afghan filmmakers, and wasn't made in Afghanistan. It is an Iranian film, about Afghanistan, just like Letters From Iwo Jima is an American film about Japan.
-
rolotomasi99
- Professor
- Posts: 2108
- Joined: Wed Jan 29, 2003 4:13 pm
- Location: n/a
- Contact:
dws1982 wrote:rolotomasi99 wrote:i think the makers of OSAMA and KANDAHAR would disagree that there is no film industry in afghanistan.
Kandahar was made by an Iranian filmmaker and filmed almost entirely in Iran (supposedly a few scenes were secretly filmed in Afghanistan, although I can't find a confirmation), so it doesn't apply.
if i ever speak to the filmmaker, i will let him know his film is not eligible as part of small but growing list of stories about and filmed in afghanistan since it was done in secret...or at least so says some members of our discussion board. i am sure he will find that interesting. ???
"When it comes to the subject of torture, I trust a woman who was married to James Cameron for three years."
-- Amy Poehler in praise of Zero Dark Thirty director Kathryn Bigelow
-- Amy Poehler in praise of Zero Dark Thirty director Kathryn Bigelow
Kandahar was made by an Iranian filmmaker and filmed almost entirely in Iran (supposedly a few scenes were secretly filmed in Afghanistan, although I can't find a confirmation), so it doesn't apply.rolotomasi99 wrote:i think the makers of OSAMA and KANDAHAR would disagree that there is no film industry in afghanistan.