vernon film society
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AT FIVE IN THE AFTERNOON
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Director Samira Makhmalbaf (winner of the Special Jury Prize at Cannes in 2000 for BLACKBOARDS) tells the story of Nogreh (Agheleh RezaVe), a woman longing for an education denied her by the fallen regime. Her father, a Taliban supporter, believes that women should not venture into society. Donning a pair of white high-heels, a symbol of the once liberal past and hope for the future, Nogreh traverses the war-torn countryside to her all-female school without her father's knowledge. When the teacher inquires after the future ambitions of her students, Nogreh's answer ignites a heated debate. Nogreh and two other students wish to become Afghanistan's first female president. The teacher requests that each "candidate" make a speech - the class will choose who is most likely to succeed. Now embracing the distant dream of political office, Nogreh muses it over with a handsome young poet, and smitten supporter (Razi Mohebi). His memorized stanza from the Federico GarpiaLorca poem that lends the film its title, also encapsulates the film's main theme of art and politics working together for a brighter future. Meeting a French UN soldier, the would-be poet and prospective politician grills him about democracy. Our soldier, however, is as hard-pressed to come up with satisfactory answers for his freedom, as is Nogreh for her oppression. When her father, despairing that "the city has been overrun by blasphemy," decides to take refuge in the barren desert, Nogreh must take stock in the courage of her convictions, AT FIVE IN THE AFTERNOON is reminiscent of twenty-three-year-old director Samira Makhmalbars previous films in its use of documentary-like episodes featuring non-professional actors in authentic settings. Combined with gentle humour and poetic dialogue, the nobility of the actors imbues the film with compelling sympathy and humanity. Set in one visually striking landscape after another in a country where the ravages of war have resuJted in deadly uncertainty, AT FIVE IN THE AFTERNOON is rivetting cinema. “Yet with Ebrahim Ghafori’s camera capturing the desolation of the war-ravaged landscape, and debutant Rezaie’s expressive face conveying both her inquisitiveness and confusion, this is still a provocative insight into a hellish situation that is far from a satisfactory resolution.” - David Parkinson, Empire Magazine |
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The first film to be made in Afghanistan since the fall
of the Taliban, AT FIVE IN THE AFTERNOON
was a much talked about feature of the Cannes and Toronto
International Film Festivals.