Greenes
Please don't spend money on this.
Juana
what a terribly boring film. I'm sorry but this is absolutely not deserving of best picture and will be forgotten quickly. Entertaining and engaging cinema? No. Nothing performances with flat faces and mistaking silence for subtlety.
Del Brindle
On Sunday 12th September, along with over 150 people, I was invited to the Cineworld cinema in Bolton to watch a screening of local boy David WHITNEY's first full length film "Kandahar Break". It was a brilliant experience to see the film on Bolton's largest cinema screen and was followed by a question and answer session with Mr Whitney and Director of photography…Russell Nabb. 15 interesting questions were asked before time ran out, each meticulously answered by either film maker. They gave the audience a clear insight into the problems facing the intrepid film-makers who's film was so controversial in the land of filming that the crew themselves were fired on resulting in the wounding of 2 crew members (not fatally I was relieved to hear,) and then the impending need to swiftly leave the country. Mainly filmed in Pakistan, the film touches on many issues which are completely out of the comfort zone of many British citizens, whatever ethnic background. Set in Afghanistan in 1999, the film centres on a British mine clearance firm employed by an oil company working alongside the Taliban government. Tense moments…reminiscent of 'HURT LOCKER' begin the film which develops into a touching story of forbidden love as two individual worlds, totally alien to each other, and the British and Afghan cultures, come together so ferociously and clash in a story of contradictions, interpretations and misunderstandings…of which a certain William Shakespeare would have been proud. Kandahar Break moves swiftly in to a tense escape movie with its fair share of plot twists and surprisingly (and most welcome) a few moments of light relief in the form of the freedom fighter Omar Baloch. The audience is continually asked to judge their own attitudes and preconceptions to the cultural differences portrayed in the film right up to the final climatic scene. Enough of the critical film-flam! Kandahar Break is exciting, poignant, cruel, controversial and beautifully filmed in locations far removed from anywhere in the UK. Shaun Dooley in the lead role is extremely convincing in his portrayal of love-torn mine clearance engineer, Richard Lee, alongside his beautiful co-star Tatmain ul Qulb. The role of Omar Baloch played by famous Pakistan actor Hameed Sheik is also a delight to watch and I suspect is a nod to some of Directors cinematic influences. Local casting gives the authentic feel to the film which in my opinion is well worth a view. Sadly, national cinema release has passed this film by, but if you get a chance to see it at an individual screening then do so. However, the most obvious way to see David Whitney's first full length film is to buy/rent the DVD/Blu-ray which was released nationally on Monday the 6th of September. Let's hope that Kandahar Break is the first of many films by this excellent new talent...David Whitney
M_o_u_s_a
Again, as some of the movies that include Muslims did, this movie has a lot of misconceptions and fallacies about Islam - the biggest one is the center of the drama when a "Sheik" saw a Muslim woman kissing a western man, so the quick decision made is to punish her with death, and him also in a later stage - This has NO relation with Islam, and Islam certainly wouldn't call for a death punishment for a kiss! A lot of fallacies that contributes to make the image about Islam as the religion of a bunch of crazy bad-looking dirty men enslaving their women, and killing anyone they want with permission from their God - Which is a completely wrong image, and it's actually the opposite.In the movie, a man killed another because that other man was seriously injured and calling for help - In Islam, taking a sole with such no-reasoning is a shame ... It always promotes saving lives even if it's a pet's life.If you're looking for some drama in a strange world, watch this movie, but don't take your info about Islam out of it.
edumacated
this film is an Islamic morality tale with two lessons.one: is the oppressive nature of Islamic law. two: is how dangerous the ignorance and arrogance of westerners can be in an Islamic country. and how that ignorance can create dangers beyond western comprehension.and i saw it all coming within the first ten minutes. i cringed so much at the obvious outcome, that i fast forwarded to the end--an end that acted as a metaphor for the u.s. led invasion.this script does not work in a post 9/11 west--which is no doubt why it was set in a pre 9/11 afghanistan. i can't imagine anyone out there who is not familiar with Islamic oppression, as it has been constantly publicized by western powers to justify the intervention. overall, this movie is not worth the time it takes to watch it. and i love war movies. it's not worth watching, unless it preaches to a choir to which you belong.
thedarkpoet
Going into Kandahar Break, I was not too sure what to expect, but coming out of the film, it's clear to say what the film is. It's a harsh look at the realities of a giant culture clash. Its a drama, centred around a love story, set in Afghanistan. The characters are really solid in this film, Shaun Dooley who plays Richard Lee, a clearance engineer who returns to Afghanistan shortly after he death of his ex-wife in Africa, is really something special. He comes across as something of a excellent TV actor, with leading man qualities, its going to be nice to see him do some interesting roles in the future. Dean Andrews plays the other British citizen in the film, Steve Delamore, who almost steals each scene he is in.The other actors, mainly played by local actors of Afghanistan are also very good, with much praise going to Hameed Sheikh who may not have the biggest part in the film, but has one of my personal favourite characters in the film.The directing of the film was pretty good, it does at some times feel a bit like a TV movie, but a good TV movie. David Whitney has certainly come from a TV background, but is certainly heading in the right direction to be a good feature director. The camera is still when it needs to be still and hectic when it needs to be hectic.Overall the full film is pretty pacey, clocking in at 94 minutes, the time flies by and at no point does the film drag. If you get the chance, and enjoy a good solid drama, Kandahar Break is a film you should be watching.
