An Iranian woman (!) shows us Afghanistan Of the three Makhmalbaf films I've seen - this one and "The Apple" by Samira and "Kandahar" by her father, Mohsen - I like this one best. It avoids making any explicit political commentary on the current situation in Afghanistan. Rather, in the best Iranian style, it simply shows us, with loving attention to detail. One of my favorite scenes, also noted by another reviewer, has Noqreh walking through the ruins of a palace in the new shoes which symbolize the elegance of modernity for her. Ostensibly she is listening for the slightest drop of water (which is very scarce), but at the same time she is enjoying listening to the sound of the heels of the shoes as they click against the floor. A very quiet, reflective scene which stays in my mind long after having seen the film, and a good example of the kind of poetry that Iranian cinema has to offer.
a very good film about an ambitious simple girl i am a huge fan of iranian cinema , but this one is an afghany one with the same soul. fine direction, great sets , ok acting and superb story are the charecteristics of this fine production. you will listen to this sad perfect score while you are watching the magnificnt scenes and you will feel the sadness finale because of it. makhmelbaf_the director_done well in this one and she deserves all the respect for her efforts.
Afternoon, Even as a New Day Dawns "Panj E Asr" is currently being shown in the United States as "Five O'Clock in the Afternoon." Congratulations to you, whoever has found this webpage, for the terrific internet skills you must have employed, to get here at all.
This film tells the story of a young Afghan woman named Noqreh, who in the wake of the Taliban's 2001 fall has decided that one day she would like to become the President of Afghanistan. At the moment, her goal seems, well... a bit distant. Her family is struggling just to stay alive in the ruins of Afghan society, constantly searching for shelter, food, and the most fundamental staples of life.
Yet Noqreh possesses a great dignity in her bearing, and viewing this film, filmgoers will find themselves thinking "hmmm... you never know!" She has very little idea how she might go about becoming president, particularly as many Afghan men will not even look at her, when she is not wearing her traditional burka. However, she works with the tools that she can understand. She has a giant advantage over most other Afghan women who might dream of becoming president: she can read. Also, she attempts to learn how a presidential speech might sound. What might a president talk about? How would she present herself? Furthermore, she idolizes former Pakistani President Benazir Bhutto, and seeks to learn all that she can, of her life.
Noqreh gets conflicting messages from the men in her life. A friendly young male poet supports her dream, giving her whatever ideas he imagines might be helpful to her. But her traditional Muslim father is another matter. While there is obvious affection and love between the father and Noqreh, he is uncomfortable with the changes in Afghan society brought by the demise of the Taliban. He does not want his little girl to go about bare-headed, with her face uncovered. It FEELS shameful to him, even though he might possibly wish to support her. He can't help the way that a lifetime of fundamentalist conditioning has led him to feel. The complex, troubled relationship between Noqreh and her father is one of the most illuminating, important elements of this fine film.
There are also many visually stirring images, throughout this film. There are many scenes in which Noqreh simply walks proudly through some old ruins, wearing a pair of new shoes. The shoes are intended to signify the small steps that Noqreh, and Afghanistan as a whole, must take toward a new future. These scenes are very simple, yet very important to the film... Another scene that I found to be memorable is of Noqreh and her hungry, homeless family, laboriously making their way through the brutal Afghan desert in a decrepit, ancient stagecoach. Meanwhile, ultra-modern US military aircraft zip back and forth overhead, efficiently carrying out their high-tech, 21st century missions. The immediate juxtaposition of these two groups of people was very powerful for me.
The Iranian director, Samira Makhmalbaf, was in her very early twenties when she made this film. Knowing this fact made me view the film in a different way, as it implied an unusually personal depth to the director's vision of the young character Noqreh. As a 30-something American male, I probably can't really imagine how miserable the prospects of life must appear, to many women from this region. This, of course, is one of the main reasons that the film was made, and is why I saw it. I feel that it has helped me to understand many things better.
If you wish, it is remarkably easy to locate online interviews with Samira Makhmalbaf. I would like to recommend that you do this. If you run a search for her name, perhaps accompanied by one or two other relevant terms (e.g. "afternoon," "Noqreh," or simply "interview"), you should be able to get lots of solid hits. The British newspaper The Guardian has published several online interviews with her, and they are definitely worth perusing. Also, as long as you're already googling things anyway, you might like to take a moment to google the phrase "Initiative to Educate Afghan Women." I can promise you that all the Noqrehs of the third world would thank you for doing so.
On the whole, this film is definitely worth your time and money. I hope that you see it. Two thumbs up!
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