The reason why I love watching films from all around the world is that they are a window for me to see how people live in their own countries and how much their life differs from what I, in the western world, experience. My Sweet Pepper Land, a Kurdish film, is a very good example of that.
Directed by Hiner Saleem, the film introduces us to a newly autonomous nation and the problems of structure that it faces by making parallels to the wild west and the very famous spaghetti westerns. Thus, it may be considered a western, a romance, a farce, a comedy or a political statement, and truly speaking it is all of them combined.
The story's protagonist is Baran (Korkmaz Arslan), a Kurdish war hero who wants to leave the force but after a small encounter with his mother he decides to take the position of commander in a godforsaken village near the turkish borders. There he has to face Aziz Aga (Tarik Akreyi) a local kingpin who offers him protection in exchange for looking the other way when needed. Baran doen't seem willing to do that however, and that causes him several problems.
There is also another new arrival at the village, the beautiful young Govend (Golshifteh Farahani) who, despite her twelve brothers' hostility to her decision, has come to work as a teacher to the newly-opened school. The two meet and fire up a tone of comments from the villagers and loads of problems for themselves.
Funny, emotional and enjoyable, My Sweet Pepper Land, that was shown as part of the "Un Certain Regard" category at the Cannes Film Festival, tells a simple but interesting story about two people -and a whole nation- that have to get out of their comfort zone and find their own identity so that they can fight to live a good life in their own terms.
This was one of the best films of the AIFF and ironically enough it was shown on the festival's last day. It is great to watch films that open your eyes to different conditions and give you something else in which to lose youself for a couple of hours. This is a film that -unfortunately- won't attract huge audiences but if you have the chance, don't miss it.
This was one of the best films of the AIFF and ironically enough it was shown on the festival's last day. It is great to watch films that open your eyes to different conditions and give you something else in which to lose youself for a couple of hours. This is a film that -unfortunately- won't attract huge audiences but if you have the chance, don't miss it.
My Sweet Pepperland was a great way to finish this year's Festival. Until next year!
0 σχόλια :
Post a Comment