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Supposedly, O’Rourke came up with the film's title before he even knew what the documentary would be about.
He
just thought it was a great title and started researching various
heavily land mined places in which he might try to find his love story.
The fall of the Taliban after the American invasion in 2001
provided him the opportunity to visit Afghanistan, where he
serendipitously met Habiba, a beggar woman on the dirt streets of Kabul
who had lost a leg to a land mine.
When he found out that
Habiba’s husband Shah had also lost a leg in the same way, hey presto,
O'Rourke had his leading characters.
O'Rourke has a simple
documentary style; not quite verite, but not overblown with lots of
music, montages and omniscient narration. It simply follows the lives
of Habiba and Shah as they get on with the difficult task of just
living in Afghan poverty.
O'Rourke was wise not to romanticise
Habiba and Shah's lives and never steps over the line by
editorialising. It's not a beautiful film, but it is moving in its way.
That said, I'm not entirely convinced by the 'love story' angle.
Maybe O’Rourke wants it to be romantic, but it’s not that simple.
In
fact, Habiba and Shah (who must have had their first child when she was
12 and he was in his 30s) only share the screen in two scenes. It's
clear that Habiba and Shah do care for each other, but it does feel
like they've been brought together by their circumstances rather than
desire.
I guess love is a different animal in Afghanistan.
O’Rourke
would like to only focus on the daily struggles in Kabul, but it proves
impossible. Every so often we are confronted with old Russian training
footage demonstrating how to install 'anti-personnel mines' or slow
motion shots of American planes dropping cluster bombs or children
being taught how to recognise the different kinds of mines.
But O’Rourke has to show these things, for context and gravity.
The
political dimension cannot be divorced from the personal in
Afghanistan. Even when you want to just make a simple movie about
simple people, you have to deal with the baggage from decades past.
Of
course, the irony is that without the violence of Afghanistan’s past
and present, their story wouldn’t exist. It’s a story that cannot be
romanticised and made happy, even if you draw a love heart around
it.
Given the subject matter, I think O'Rourke manages
to strikes the right balance. It's not a polemical movie; but it
doesn’t shy away from the harsh situation.
I’m not sure if it’s a love story, but at least it’s a story of (a little) hope.
DVD EXTRAS
A vague and redundant commentary by director Dennis O’Rourke, where he mostly just describes what’s happening on the screen.
Conclusion:
Movie 80% Extras: 10%
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