Kandahar

Name: Kandahar
Genre: Biography, Drama, War
Released: December 14, 2001
Duration: 81 min
Rating: 76
Cast: Hassan Tantai, Nelofer Pazira

2001

METASCORE

Generally favorable reviews based on 28 Critic Reviews

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USER SCORE

Generally favorable reviews based on 14 Ratings

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7.0	User Score Generally favorable reviews based on 14 Ratings

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Movie Details & Credits

NEJ International Pictures | Release Date: December 14, 2001

Starring: Hassan Tantai, Nelofer Pazira

Summary: Set in Taliban-ruled Afghanistan, this is the story of Nafas (Pazira), a young female journalist who escaped the country to grow up in Canada and who returns incognito, smuggled in, to save her younger sister.

Director: Mohsen Makhmalbaf

Genre(s): Biography, Drama, War

Runtime: 81 min

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Critic Reviews

100

Mick LaSalle

Presented without preachiness or affectation, Kandahar is a short, matter-of-fact visit to hell. Read full review

Kevin Thomas

This remarkably revealing and timely film, in which the depiction of pain and sorrow is suffused with a sense of beauty and a graceful, flowing style, more than lives up to glowing advance notices. Read full review

Marrit Ingman

The story is simple and true-to-life, and the technique is naturalistic, using nonprofessional actors, photography that emphasizes the characters' environment, and deliberate narrative pacing that mimics real-time events. Read full review

Rich Cline

The result is stunning -- both as a narrative film and as a document of the place and time. Read full review

Carrie Rickey

Pazira, whose sapphire eyes blaze through the lattice of her slate-gray burqa, isn't much of an actress, as her singsong narration attests. But when not speaking, she has a commanding presence and is an effective witness to the ravages of war. Read full review

J. Hoberman

The movie feels truncated, but it communicates a certain urgency and at times a powerful sense of the absurd. Read full review

A.O. Scott

Kandahar feels like a Magritte painting rendered in sand tones, and your eyes are drawn to the screen. There aren't enough of these moments, though, and Mr. Makhmalbaf lessens their power by repeating them. Read full review

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User Reviews

masoudb.

Jan 9, 2006

Good.

0 of 0 users found this helpful

RubyQ

Oct 1, 2005

An important look at an oppressive, war-ravaged nation, but my God the lead character (an Afghan-Canadian woman trying to find her sister) acts like a stupid Westerner blundering around clueless in a third world war zone. She takes off her burqua at every opportunity and even waves around a An important look at an oppressive, war-ravaged nation, but my God the lead character (an Afghan-Canadian woman trying to find her sister) acts like a stupid Westerner blundering around clueless in a third world war zone. She takes off her burqua at every opportunity and even waves around a tape-recorder in a crowd of Afghan women. Pushed the boundaries of plausibility in order to set up explanations for viewers. High marks for being eye-opening but low for common sense.… Expand

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