Sick Product of a Sick System

It's no definitive masterpiece but it's damn close.

The first must-see film of the year.

The movie turns out to be a little better than the average. Starting from a romantic formula often seen in the cinema, it ends in the most predictable (and somewhat bland) way.

In Afghanistan, Canadian journalist Luke, who also occasionally narrates the movie, is dressed like a woman would be under the Taliban. He is accompanied by a group of men, most of whom don't speak English, and Mateen, his "fixer", who translates and tells him what he needs to know.It is rumored that Americans cut off the fingers of certain people they kill. Luke believes he is seeing this happen but his camera gets shot and there goes the evidence.Back in Canada, Luke's newspaper won't run the story. But he is determined to go back and get his evidence, without the support of his paper. Actually, the way he behaved toward his editor Mark, he doesn't have a job.Luke's friend Tom, who looks like a hippie and has a sarcastic attitude, wants to go to Afghanistan too, and he gets his mother to finance the trip. Once back in Afghanistan, Luke claims to be working on a story about the drug industry--Afghanistan is a leading producer of heroin. Tom claims to be working on a documentary for CNN, and the beautiful girl he is interested in, an entertainer named Miss Freedom, believes him. Imran, who already knew Luke, works for The New York Times and he believes he has an edge over the others.The three journalists get sent with a group which includes Elita, an attractive woman from Latvia, who assists with communications. Mateen joins Luke once again, after some effort. They are going to visit his uncle, who has some knowledge of the situation. Tom poses as a record executive to meet with a big shot in a suit named Assad whose nephew is an aspiring rapper with no talent (to hear an actual rapper, wait for the closing credits). Ustad Mir is a cab driver who picks up some of the group when they get left behind.Tom and Luke get separated from Imran and the main group and experience the horrors of war and meet some interesting characters, such as the Brooklyn plumber who insists poor sanitation and water quality are killing more people than the war. Mateen, who is mostly comic relief, has a chance to be more than that when he experiences a tragedy.Is this movie worth seeing? It might be. It helps us to understand what our people are going through in a war that doesn't meet any of the traditional definitions. Mateen gives Luke an important quote which essentially means "There are no enemies. Only future allies." The reverse is also true.And the people are poor and have to do what it takes to get by. Someone is making billions from the drugs, but not these people, and they resent being told what to do by outsiders.This isn't a comedy, but for those who prefer comedy, there's just enough to make the movie tolerable. The quirky characters are enjoyable.It's not exactly family friendly, with numerous instances of the sound going out and a character's mouth blurred, middle fingers blurred (I assume), and the reality of war. For a movie about war, though, this is not that violent. I actually saw the fourth "Rambo" movie the day I saw this, and that was far worse.It's not a classic, but maybe if you like war, it's something worth seeing.

Excellent! I do believe one can remark it a masterpiece chiefly for those who are fascinated in Afghanistan and its history. Nick Stahl and Nicolas Wright starred fabulously. I do believe this film can be compared to the 'KITE RUNNER' but in different scopes. Through the film, you can see some landscapes which they can be compared to the novel of 'a short walk in Hindu-Kush' and understand the horrifying changes through the war. This movie is very powerful in its dialogs mainly Afghans. For some it may be a boring story for its themes but if analyzed more, it will be clear-cut that all items are professionally arranged for the people to get the meanings even the walks!But there is something negative! The way foreigners treat afghans is not appropriate in some scenes. But the epiphany and suspense in this film (esp. in the main characters) is very nice and powerful.

The first thing that bothered me about this movie was it was filmed in Nova Scotia. I don't expect a movie crew to film in Afghanistan but come on-...Nova Scotia? Nick Stahl who is a good actor and starred in the Oscar Winning Movie re: IN THE BEDROOM and also THIN RED LINE is sorely in the wrong element here and at the mercy of a poor screenplay. The linear plot line of this movie jumps around like a BB in a bathtub. The plot of the movie failed to have important meaning to me especially after watching the gem of a journalist movie THE BANG BANG CLUB, which you identified which each and every journalist in the field. The journalists in THE BANG BANG CLUB were not in a traditional war but had a brotherhood of camaraderie to their group. This movie had most of the journalists constantly confrontational and their was no caring for each other. The screenplay was tepid and slow and ended with a dud. Nick Stahl can do much better than this. I gave this 2 out of 10 instead of a one only because of Nick Stahl past achievements.

This is a wonderful little movie. Directed and produced by the same guys as the Trailer Park Boys this is a completely different type of movie. Great work with the muted colours and the dust and dirt of Afghanistan. I don't know how they were able to make BC look like Afghanistan but it is believable and convincing in the movie. It is a little predictable and contrived in parts but the characters are believable and I was hooked in from the very beginning of the movie. The ending however was strong and didn't cave to be a predictable Hollywood want-a-be ending. This movie was easy to watch, easy to understand but still had enough subsistence to allow for great conversations afterwards.