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Show TOWER CORNER 4 Unique Look a t Afghanistan Under the Taliba n in Kandahar' "Kandahar" Avatar Films Written, produced and directed by Mohsen Makhmalbaf Starring Nelofer Paiira, Sahid: Hassan Tantai, Sadou Teymouri Not Rated, but there are some disturbing images. Nothing too sexy or too violent (out offour) by Jeremy Mathews doctor is examining a woman, but the woman isn't in the room. He lis addressing medical questions to a child, who is relaying the questions to the woman, who must put her mouth next to a hole in a curtain to be exam- ined. Anything else would be too intimate for an unmarried man and woman. Such is life in Afghanistan in the late days of Taliban control, as shown in "Kandahar." Mohsen Makhmalbaf 's film was made before Sept. n, and premiered at the aooi Cannes Film Festival. Now that the situation has more wide appeal, the film has wider distribution than it originally would have. Since much of it is in English, the film is accessible to even more people. Nafas (Nelofer Pazira) fled her homeland at a young age and grew up in Canada. Her sister lost her legs and couldn't flee with the rest of the family. She Just received a letter from her sister that said life was too unbearable, so she plans to commit suicide on the final solar eclipse of the millennium. Nafas decides "Death to Smoochy" Warner Bros. Directed by Danny DeVito Written by Adam Resnick Produced by Andrew Lazar, Peter to return to her homeland Kandahar, Afghanistan and dissuade her sister. Getting into the country, however, is a problem. She can't get a visa for political reasons. She goes through Iran, travelling with a man who does business in both countries. With a burqua covering every inch of her body, she easily stands as the man's fourth wife. But the group runs into problems, and the film soon becomes about Nafas' journey through her own homeland, seeing the world with several different guides: a child, a doctor, a thief, etc. Most people tell her to wait a week if she wants to go to Kandahar, but Nafas only has a couple days and is in for a long journey, even with the most advanced transportation available. "The only thing modern here is guns," a character tells Nafar. The dialogue and narrative aren't particularly strong, and some of the English-languag- e acting is downright awkward, the film's but impact lies in the images it runpresents. Despite the trim time, the film isn't afraid to linger on characters and situations in order to document what things are like in Afghanistan. The scene that introduces the Khak (Sadou Teymouri) a young boy wise to the world's tragedies who offers to take Nafas through the desert and help her avoid mines and other trouble is set in a school. The students all boys recite the Koran without any thought, and are occasionally stopped to recite facts about weapons like knifes and guns. The boys are in this life because otherwise they A Minor F by anny DeVito's latest directorial stab (pun intended) isn't great, but it certainly doesn't warrant death to its participants. Instead, everyone involved Q) in "Death to Smoochy" should wash their mouths out with soap, go to their rooms for a while and sincerely think about what they have done. You see, it's not often such a great cast gets put together (or that Jon Stewart gets more than three minutes of slated screen time), or that it's decided America has finally healed enough from its wounds to be able to enjoy a good "Kill Barney" movie again. But you weren't thinking about that, now were you? No, you got too caught up in the subplot with the mafia and with repetitive character mannerisms. You forgot to let the actors be themselves. You got lazy and you let us down. Now I want you to write a thousand times: "I will not waste talent. I will not waste talent. I will not waste talent." And so on. Remember when you had the Irish lady say she would cut off the guy's balls and shove them up his ass, and then Ed Norton's character won't do the ball shoving thing it's against procedure." That was crude, and I don't approve of that sort of language, but it was also very funny and there were a lot of moments like that. You can be good when you want to be. You can be very good, and we want to love you so much. But sometimes you just put so much Sometimes emphasis on you just put so moving the forward much emphasis plot that you for- on moving the get to be forward funny and it that you forget frustrates mother to be funny your and I. It's just and it frustrates I march 28, 2002 that you your mother have so anQ much poten- tial and we've already given up on your older siblings and you were our last chance to do things right. You were supposed to be the good one. We wish you would have devoted a little more time to Smoochy's kids' show. The about stepfathers was inspired, but most RED Magazine U ': Ncbfer Pszim plays an Afghanistan emigrant who returns to find her sukkkl sister In "Kandafxu? wouldn't be able to eat. ' And there's another cene in a Red Cross station, showing people who lost their legs in mines beg for replacements. And there are also peddlers there, hoping . to swindle a pair of artificial legs to sell on the street ("You should always have a spare pair."). ; ; : "Kandahar" paints a disturbing portrait of the land and times, showing the result of an oppressive regime. Everyone lives in fear of stepping on a mine or going hungry, and no one cares much if one woman can get to her sister before ' she commits suicide. - 3' "'2 "f , -- tt - r- ""TV V laugh-out-lou- d "4 RjO i . jeremyTed-mag.CQ- , . m sert HM said, "no, we should save that for the cops to do," and then the other Irish guy said, "actually, the cops Brent Sallay WuM'V ' . lagellation an d BecUjJiShou Starring Robin Williams, Edward Norton, Danny DeVito, Jon Stewart, Catherine Keener Rated R (out offour) V' j te 1 MacCregor-Scot- t ' sing-alon- g V Danny DeVito and Jon Stewart are part of the comedy, "Death to Smoochy." of the other songs didn't seem to have required much thought, and there were so many jabs at the Barney phenomenon just begging to be made that you didn't even explore. We raised you better than that. I know I've already mentioned this, but you could have really done without a lot of the scatological humor. Half the time you have Robin Williams screaming I can't even tell what he's saying, but I can pretty much guess that it starts with an 'f,' and it ain't 'funny.' Just because something's in your pants doesn't make it a , 'J somewhat-disappointing-to-its-paren- ts punchline. Incidentally, have you thought about what we talked about last week? Have you declared a major yet? How are things working out between you and Rhea? When are you going to make us grandparents? When are you going to make something of your life? We worry about you, you know. We love you. I don't want to get all gushy here, but in your finest moments, of which there were many, you have done us proud, son. Norton's Smoochy is so blissfully naive until he falls out of character at the end. Robin Williams' Rainbow Randolph is savagely funny, even when he falls out of character at the end. And the end credits, a hilarious sendup of Peter Pan on Ice, are so campily great until they end up ending...at the end. It's moments like these that make me think that things could have turned out differently. Maybe if only we had been better to you. Maybe if we had gone to see you when you were a kid, or play if I would have taken you out for ice cream after you got your tonsils out. Maybe if we would have been there for you through the thick and thin of it all, instead of just showing up in your life for the first time at a press screening before your theatrical release. But now you're all grown up and it's too late for both of us to change. You've already been and disthrough tribution, and tomorrow you open everywhere in theaters across the nation. So though we do not completely agree with how you have decided to turn out, we want you to know that we still love you, and will continue to support you even if we don't visit again until you hit the dollars or the rental racks. Don't forget to write. T-b- four-day- post-productio- n Love, your daddy, Brent Sallay brentsred-mag.co- s |
