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Nelofer Pazira, a Canadian journalist born in
Afghanistan, plays a character she inspired in
Kandahar.
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One of the first things Warner Bros. did in response to the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center and Pentagon was to postpone the Arnold Schwarzenegger actioner, Collateral Damage. In the film, Schwarzenegger plays a fireman who loses his family to a terrorist attack on a Los Angeles office tower. In the weeks after Sept. 11, it's safe to say, Collateral Damage was not what audiences wanted to see. The current box-office success of the combat film Black Hawk Down hints that audiences might be ready to see Big Ahh-nold fighting the good fight against some evil terrorists.
I don't think audiences will find Collateral Damage's terrorist plot offensive or unpatriotic. At the same time, I can't imagine that anyone will be all that entertained by director Andrew Davis' lulling film. Boasting 20 explosions too many, Collateral Damage is an action thriller that doesn't know when to stop.
Schwarzenegger is Gordy Brewer, a Los Angeles fireman who seeks revenge against the Colombian terrorist responsible for the explosion that killed his wife and infant son. Looking like one of the World Trade Center firefighters, Schwarzenegger first appears in a cloud of fire and smoke. His is the face of heroism.
The problem is that Schwarzenegger looks especially weary in Collateral Damage. Davis, the man responsible for entertaining actioners like The Fugitive and Under Siege, never manages to grab control of the story in Collateral Damage. The film's camerawork (cinematographer Adam Greenberg) is not especially flashy. Screenwriters David Griffiths and Peter Griffiths never fully develop the revenging father plot. More importantly, it's hard to accept that Schwarzenegger's fireman is also a munitions expert.
Much of Collateral Damage takes place in the guerrilla-controlled jungles of Colombia. The film really lulls when Brewer pilots a small boat to the guerrilla compound with the seriousness of Martin Sheen's quest in Apocalypse Now. John Turturro gives the film a much-needed boost with a cameo as a lowlife who helps Brewer contact the guerrillas. Francesca Neri delivers the film's only complex performance, playing a woman caught in the net of the guerrilla violence.
Granted, Collateral Damage does pick up speed late into the film, when the action shifts to Washington D.C. In what turns out to be the film's best moment, Brewer rappels down an elevator shaft in a desperate attempt to capture the terrorist bomber. This one, taut scene shows what the rest of Collateral Damage could have been.
At any other time, a movie like this would feel like another overblown, under-scripted Hollywood blockbuster. Today, as the U.S. military action continues in Afghanistan, Collateral Damage feels extremely vacant. No one looks to this film for political commentary. One expects Collateral Damage to offer action stunts that we've never seen before. On that level, director Davis also fails.
The simultaneous arrival of two other films to local theaters offers a wide cinematic response to Sept. 11. Unlike Collateral Damage, they make a political statement.
Emphasizing the absurdity of war allows writer/director Danis TanoviÉc to aim his Bosnian war drama No Man's Land into an intentionally satirical direction. Ciki (Branko DjuriÉc), a member of a Bosnian relief patrol, dives into a trench after being ambushed by a Serb platoon. Inside the trench, Ciki comes face-to-face with a Serbian soldier (Rene Bitorajac). Their hatred for each other results in a tirade of insults. Their arguing stops only after they realize that another soldier lies wounded in the trench. More importantly, a land mine has put their lives in danger.
No Man's Land is TanoviÉc's first feature drama, and he shows himself skilled at telling a substantial story. TanoviÉc uses black comedy as his means for criticizing the West's relationship with the civil war that tore Yugoslavia apart. When a United Nations peace-keeping force and foreign news crews swarm the trench, No Man's Land turns brutally funny. Combat films tend to dissolve under a barrage of fiery explosions, but No Man's Land wisely stays focused on its trio of trench-bound enemies. By emphasizing human characters more than military hardware, No Man's Land makes a stronger political statement. It's clear that TanoviÉc realizes that the most persuasive arguments belong to an engaging story.
In light of America's ongoing war with Afghanistan, writer/director Mohsen Makmalbaf's Kandahar feels emotionally satisfying, balanced and articulate. A movie like this confirms the need for Iranian cinema during a time of war. Of all three movies, it is the one drama driven by hope.
This humanistic, political drama confirms that works of cinematic art can provide new insight into turbulent world affairs. Makhmalbaf's first movie since 1998's The Silence proves him to be one of the masters of the New Iranian cinema.
Kandahar tells the story of Nafas (Nelofer Pazira), a young journalist born in Afghanistan and raised in Canada. When her family fled Afghanistan, her younger sister was accidentally left behind in the chaos. After receiving a letter where her sister threatens to commit suicide on the last eclipse of the millennium -- she can't live under the Taliban any longer -- Nafas sneaks into Afghanistan to save her sister's life.
Makhmalbaf balances the horrific plight of the Afghan refugees and land mine victims with the delicate sounds, vibrant colors and spectacular desert landscapes of Afghanistan. Makhmalbaf absorbs everything without forced commentary. When Nafas suffocates under the heavy robes and veils she wears to enter Afghanistan, Kandahar makes a political statement far stronger than any speech or TV news report.
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A Serbian soldier (Rene Bitorajac) offers his hand to a
Bosnian fighter (Branko Djuri´c) in No Man’s Land.
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Unlike the many Iranian films that center on a child protagonist, Kandahar is distinctly adult and complex. Its stunning photography (courtesy of cinematographer Ebraham Ghafouri, who also filmed The Silence) emphasizes the film's mythic story line. At the same time, Kandahar never loses sight of the daily dramas of Nafas and the people she meets on her quest.
Following in the social-political tradition of other Iranian films like Jafar Panahi's The Circle and Dariush Mehrjui's Leila, Kandahar transforms the Taliban's control of Afghanistan into a tale that's emotional, heartfelt and dramatically rewarding. Through its stunning photography, Kandahar also qualifies as film art. Western fans already won over by Makhmalbaf's films know how poetic his stories can be. For moviegoers who watch Kandahar out of curiosity for its Afghan setting, the experience will prove to be awe-inspiring.
Collateral Damage Grade: D.
No Man's Land Grade: B.
Kandahar Grade: A.
