Act of Dishonour (2010)

In a land beset by endless strife, nothing must get in the way of the preservation of honour - even if that means sacrificing a loved one. Mena, a young, beautiful bride-to-be, lives in a ... See full summary »

Director:

Nelofer Pazira

Writer:

Nelofer Pazira

Stars:

Marina Golbahari, Abdul Ghafar Qoutbyar, Masood Serwary

Cast

Cast overview:
Marina Golbahari	...	Mena
Abdul Ghafar Qoutbyar	...	Khak
Masood Serwary	...	Rahmat
Nelofer Pazira	...	Mejgan
Ali Hazara	...	Ali
Ali Fazil	...	Hassan
Ben Campbell	...	Dave
Greg Bryk	...	Ben

Storyline

In a land beset by endless strife, nothing must get in the way of the preservation of honour - even if that means sacrificing a loved one. Mena, a young, beautiful bride-to-be, lives in a small, remote village in northern Afghanistan, a harsh landscape that still shimmers with breathtaking colours. Respecting the deeply conservative local customs, she and her fiancé, Rahmat, have little contact yet cherish a special bond. The arrival of a Canadian film crew briefly opens a window on a new world for Mena, a foray beyond the boundaries of convention that leads her inexorably down a dangerous road. Directed by Nelofer Pazira, the star of Mohsen Makhmalbaf's acclaimed Kandahar and co-director of the documentary Return to Kandahar, Act of Dishonour is a compelling drama in which East and West, love and honour, modernity and custom collide with tragic consequences. In this rich microcosm of a fractured society, many stories intertwine, including those of Mejgan, the Afghan-Canadian ...

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Genres:

Drama

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Details

Country:

Canada

Language:

English Dari

Release Date:

June 2010 (UK)

Filming Locations:

Afghanistan

Company Credits

Production Co:

Foundry Films, Nomad Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

90 min

Color:

Color

User Reviews

a very good film, disturbing, heart-rending, memorable

First a word about the movie's low rating here on IMDb. Click on Ratings to see who gave the low ratings and who gave the high. Young boys rated it as low as 1. Young women rated it as high as 9.5. And in between the wide separation of scores is entirely based on age and sex. In every age group females gave it much higher ratings than males. And in the case of men, the older they are, the higher their ratings.

So this is not a movie for immature males. It is thoughtful, provocative, layered. Is Afghan culture repressive and ugly? Yes. Is the burga a symbol of women's repression? Probably--but what do we make of the fact that this Afghan girl, so innocent, so excited about becoming married to a boy she loves, wants more than anything else a burqa to wear on her wedding night in order to appear mysterious, alluring, and sexy? In the bedroom on her wedding night, is the burqa still a symbol of oppression?

The Westerners in the movie voice the typical attitudes about how primitive Afghan culture is. They have come to make a movie, and while making it they try to "uplift" the locals in little ways. Yet when they drive away, their attempts leave a trail of destruction.

But mostly the film is about the terrible effects of Afghan culture, its proneness to violence, its hatred of foreigners, and especially its horrific treatment of women. The ending leaves you on the verge of tears and shaking your fist at Afghan men.

It's a movie well worth seeing, unless you think X-Men and Pirates of the Caribbean are examples of film-making at its best.