Earth and Ashes (15)

Director: Atiq Rahimi
Starring: Abdul Ghani, Jawan Mard Homayoun, Walli Tallosh
Afghanistan/France, 2004, 1 hour 50 minutes, subtitles

Exhausted old Dastagir and Yassin, his deaf grandson, are waiting for a truck to take them to the mine where Yassin’s father works. As time passes we discover that as the only survivors from the bombing of their village they are on a sorrowful journey of spiritual and mythical proportions. Full of beautifully composed images of the desolate, Afghan landscape, this is a powerful meditation on grief, coming to terms with death and finding the hope and courage to go on. Floating upon a wistfully deliberate pace, this is in many ways similar in mood and style to last year’s Osama.

English premiere

« previous film | next film »