"Kandahar (Safar e Ghandehar)" is the "Apocalypse Now" of the Afghan Wars-- an artist's vision that is strikingly visual, combined with enough facts to confuse us between reality and fiction, though "Kandahar" strays even more into pseudo-documentary territory into the literal Heart of Darkness. Far less didactic than another recent Iranian film that grimly looked at women's lives under fanatic Islam, "The Circle," "Kandahar" was inspired by a Canadian-Afghani journalist's real quest and somewhat improvised around the people she and the director met on the Afghan-Iranian border while shooting the film, and utilized as amateur actors (including one now identified as a Khomeini-directed assassin).The images are simply stunning and unforgettable (such that the noisy popcorn eaters stopped crunching bags mid-handful)-- prosthetic limbs parachuted into desert Red Cross stations chased by amputees on crutches, posed family portraits with the plural wives covered in burkhas, a mullah martinet leading a crowded class of a madrassas in rote memorization of both the Koran and the use of weapons, and women covered in multi-colored burkhas sweeping over the desert to a frightening check-point.But all are shown as complex, surprising characters -- the amputees are victims of land mines set up by many different sources over the decades or maybe, in a region filled with crafty con men and survival thieves, are victims of rough justice; the mullah is feeding the starving boys; and the husband defends the use of the burkha as a traditional point of honor. Of course even little touches mean more now -- we understand the look of fearful unease as one man mutters that he can't go to Kandahar because he's been in the prison there. It's not just the women who lead lives of quiet desperation in war-torn Afghanistan.There's no conventional ending, only our imaginations, but then who knows wither Afghanistan? (originally written 12/31/2001)

I do not know if anyone else over here has realised this or not. Probably, may not be, because most of the people I found here were from either the US or UK or other Westerners.If you listen to the song which they play once in a while in this movie, it will match the following lyrics:Thwannaama Keerthana Rathaah Thava Divya Naama Gaayanthi Bhakthi Rasa Paana Prahrushta Chiththaah Daathum Krupaasahitha Darshanamaashu Thebhyah Sri Sathya Sai Bhagawan Thava Suprabhatham(Meaning in English: Devotees engrossed in singing Thy Glory are happy and blissful, when they taste the nectar of devotion. Kindly shower Thy Grace by granting them Thy Darshan. O Lord Sathya Sai! Blessed by Thy wakefulness, we pray for an auspicious day.)Aadhaaya Divya Kusumaani Manoharaani Sreepaada Poojana Vidhim Bhavadanghri Mooley Karthum Mahothsukathayaa Pravishanti Bhakthaah Sri Sathya Sai Bhagawan Thava Suprabhatham(Meaning: Bringing holy flowers with captivating colors and fragrance, for worshipping Thy Lotus Feet, in the form as prescribed by the scriptures, Thy devotees are coming in, with great yearning and enthusiasm. O Lord Sathya Sai! Blessed by Thy wakefulness, we pray for an auspicious day.)This as you might see is a verse from a song in Sanskrit in praise of a Hindu god! This is not a bloody Afghani song. This does not have any connection to Afghanistan and neither does it make any sense in the situations where it has been used in this movie. This again shows the amateurishness of this movie, apart from the crappy acting, etc. There hasn't been any research done before even attempting to take such a movie and that is quite alarming!The above song btw is is called Sri Satya Sai Suprbhatham and probably almost every Hindu in India would have heard this song! I do not understand how it did find its way into an Afghani movie!! Couldn't the movie makers apply some common sense b4 stealing a song which they thought would be cool to have in the backdrop???

It's a sad statement on America's worldview that it took a horrible tragedy on Sept. 11, 2001, to awaken Americans to the brutality of the Taliban in Afghanistan. Until then, most Americans didn't care about the vicious and ruthless nature of those who governed that country.Former President Bill Clinton said his one regret during his presidency was that he did nothing while nearly one million people were slaughtered in Rwanda. True. But he should also consider why the U.S., this beacon of democracy, did nothing while the Taliban mistreated women and massacred Afghanis. Even George W. Bush gave the Taliban nary a thought until that horrific day in 2001.When it was initially released, Iranian director Mohsen Makhmalbaf's film, "Kandahar," probably had little chance of finding an audience in the U.S. After all, at the time, the majority of Americans wouldn't have been able to find Afghanistan on a map, let alone know where Kandahar was. But then Sept. 11 happened and Kandahar, like Kabul and Spin Boldak, became household words in American homes. U.S. TV networks rushed out experts on Afghanistan and reported on the Taliban's brutality as if they'd uncovered a previously unknown fact.Of course, all that's changed now. We don't care about Afghanistan anymore. Not after this administration concocted evidence and launched an unjust war against Iraq, gaining support for it by frightening Americans. Paranoia is patriotic. Also, covering the downfall of a barbaric regime that didn't put up a fight isn't as sexy as giving round-the-clock coverage on a pop star accused of child molestation or a yet another rich, young, white woman gone missing in California. Watching "Kandahar," you'll no doubt wonder why we didn't intervene years ago. If this film doesn't make Americans truly appreciate their lives and rights, which they take for granted, nothing will.The film's inspired by true events. Writer and star Nelofer Pazira, who fled Kabul with her family, tried to enter Taliban-ruled Afghanistan to search for her best friend who stayed behind. Pazira never got beyond the Iranian-Afghan border. But filmmaker Makhmalbaf, whom Pazira had contacted earlier, decided two years later to fictionalize Pazira's story.I admit I was in two minds after watching "Kandahar." The acting's amateurish - they're all non-actors - and the storytelling is, at times, a bit heavy-handed. I don't know whether it was a good idea to cast Pazira. Her character carries the entire film and it needs someone who can pulls us into her plight. Pazira's narration occasionally gets ponderous. The film relies heavily on that narration to serve as exposition; a good example of tell don't show, when films should be otherwise. Pazira never varies her voice and her monotone can be off-putting. A stronger actress could have done wonders with the role.However, these flaws could be ignored because of what the film's trying to tell us. Maybe we're too spoiled by professional-looking Hollywood films to appreciate something like this. The film's beautifully shot and contains several wrenching moments. I shan't spoil it for you, but there's an unforgettably potent moment in a Red Cross camp."Kandahar" makes a good double feature with Siddiq Barmak's "Osama" (2003). Also, do yourself a great favor - read Khaled Hosseini's powerful novel, "The Kite Runner," a film adaptation of which will be directed by Sam Mendes."Kandahar" proves great nations should help oppressed people even if the assistance doesn't fall into the narrow category of national interest. That would be an acceptable reason than scaring an uninformed populace with fake evidence about nonexistent WMDs. "Kandahar" might not look polished, the acting not brilliant. But I'll take this film any day over huge, glossy Hollywood clunkers - "Be Cool" and "Hostage," for instance - showing in theaters right now.

This is an extremely beautiful film which inhabits a visual and emotional territory somewhere between Werner Herzog and Pasolini.As others have stated, the actors are non-professionals and the plot is not the stuff of Hollywood melodrama. However the images and sounds are haunting and profound. Mahkmalbaf is truly a poet of the cinema.The film does not attempt to make a political analysis of the situation of Afghanistan in 2001, but operates on a more humanistic and emotional level, showing the human consequences, the poverty both material and spiritual of life under the Taliban and the indifference of the outside world.The "doctor" character, far from being implausible, is played by a real person with a very similar history. He is also a stand-in within the film for Makhmalbaf himself, who started as an Islamic fundamentalist revolutionary but has moved towards a more open-minded humanism.The film itself describes a circle, the first scene is also the last, the sun shining through a burqa onto a woman's face. Between are unforgettable images, and a transit across a surreal and nightmarish landscape. Surrender yourself and you will really feel you have been on a journey.The UK DVD also includes "The Afghan Alphabet" a similarly fictionalised documentary on the struggle to bring education to the three million or so Afghan refugees in Iran.