My take- The Breadwinner
The soothing words of Rumi "Raise your words, not voice. It is rain that grows flowers, not thunder" makes the closing line of the heart-rending animated movie 'The Breadwinner' directed by Nora Twomey.
It is the stories through which we continue to live in this world long after we are gone. And it is through stories that our heart finds the courage to face the daunting challenges that life throws at us. This gem of a movie presents to us the monochrome daily struggles contrasted with the colourful analogous folklore of extraordinary struggle. The movie is set in warn-torn Afghanistan and revolves around the life of a little girl named Parvana and her extraordinary quest of rescuing her ordinary, crippled father. The movie evokes our empathy in its portrayal of the atrocities and anti-women stance of Taliban.
Parvana's father was a school teacher, but after Taliban's occupation when schools were closed down he was forced to sell his 'literacy' like a peddler. Parvana's father embodied all that the Taliban regime opposed, namely, women empowerment, literature, reverence for the history of their land and people, etc. He encouraged both his daughters to seek solace in the stories of their people when despair threatened to engulf them. But the vanguards of Taliban regime sniffed his progressiveness amongst the stench of fundamentalism, and incarcerated him without any charge.
Thus Parvana began her determined quest to bring back her father. It was a dangerous quest in the first place but the stigma of her gender made it literally impossible. In fact, the basic necessities of life were nothing less of a quest for her family in the absence of any 'male guardian'. Despite having money, the shopkeepers refused to serve her for the Taliban regime has strict instruction against serving any woman who wasn't accompanied by a male guardian. Fazed by the harshness and discrimination of the world, Parvana decided to chop off her hair and disguised herself as a boy. Disguised as a boy, when she stepped out she realized that along with her previous identity a lot of problems have disappeared too. Though life was difficult, but it wasn't as harsh for Atish (Parvana's assumed name) as it had been for Parvana. The restrictions that confined her as Parvana were no longer applicable for Atish. He was free to go wherever he wanted, and thus was in a better to rescue his father. But we must not make the mistake of thinking that life for Parvana became a cakewalk as a boy; for she was still a child. And had anyone ever taken a child seriously? Children are as susceptible to exploitation as women are.
The best thing about the movie is that it teaches us the importance of stories. When the toils of reality exhausts and isolates us, it is the stories that soothes us and restores in us our lost humanity. When all is lost, it is through stories that we find the faint ray of hope just like Parvana found in the story of Suleiman.
Parvana's father always taught her that we must never forget our ancestors and the stories they told, for they are the warm, guiding lights showing us the way through the dark maze of reality.
I believe we will make the world a little more amiable if we take a leaf out of Parvana's father's book, won't we?
It is the stories through which we continue to live in this world long after we are gone. And it is through stories that our heart finds the courage to face the daunting challenges that life throws at us. This gem of a movie presents to us the monochrome daily struggles contrasted with the colourful analogous folklore of extraordinary struggle. The movie is set in warn-torn Afghanistan and revolves around the life of a little girl named Parvana and her extraordinary quest of rescuing her ordinary, crippled father. The movie evokes our empathy in its portrayal of the atrocities and anti-women stance of Taliban.
Parvana's father was a school teacher, but after Taliban's occupation when schools were closed down he was forced to sell his 'literacy' like a peddler. Parvana's father embodied all that the Taliban regime opposed, namely, women empowerment, literature, reverence for the history of their land and people, etc. He encouraged both his daughters to seek solace in the stories of their people when despair threatened to engulf them. But the vanguards of Taliban regime sniffed his progressiveness amongst the stench of fundamentalism, and incarcerated him without any charge.
Thus Parvana began her determined quest to bring back her father. It was a dangerous quest in the first place but the stigma of her gender made it literally impossible. In fact, the basic necessities of life were nothing less of a quest for her family in the absence of any 'male guardian'. Despite having money, the shopkeepers refused to serve her for the Taliban regime has strict instruction against serving any woman who wasn't accompanied by a male guardian. Fazed by the harshness and discrimination of the world, Parvana decided to chop off her hair and disguised herself as a boy. Disguised as a boy, when she stepped out she realized that along with her previous identity a lot of problems have disappeared too. Though life was difficult, but it wasn't as harsh for Atish (Parvana's assumed name) as it had been for Parvana. The restrictions that confined her as Parvana were no longer applicable for Atish. He was free to go wherever he wanted, and thus was in a better to rescue his father. But we must not make the mistake of thinking that life for Parvana became a cakewalk as a boy; for she was still a child. And had anyone ever taken a child seriously? Children are as susceptible to exploitation as women are.
The best thing about the movie is that it teaches us the importance of stories. When the toils of reality exhausts and isolates us, it is the stories that soothes us and restores in us our lost humanity. When all is lost, it is through stories that we find the faint ray of hope just like Parvana found in the story of Suleiman.
Parvana's father always taught her that we must never forget our ancestors and the stories they told, for they are the warm, guiding lights showing us the way through the dark maze of reality.
I believe we will make the world a little more amiable if we take a leaf out of Parvana's father's book, won't we?
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