Film Review: The Breadwinner (2017) Genre: Drama, Animation
Posted on : February 13, 2023Author : sharanya Bhattacharya
‘The Breadwinner’(2017), a 94 minutes animated drama film by the Irish animation venture, Cartoon Saloon, and directed by Nora Twomey, tells the story of Parvana, an 11-year-old girl who disguised herself as a boy in order to survive against the Taliban rules. This film is an adaption of Canadian author, Deborah Ellis’s novel ‘The Breadwinner’ (2001) which is a result of extensive research based on interviews with Afghan refugee women, living in Pakistan. This film is a depiction of the daily challenges of Parvana (voiced by) and her family, living in a society where women aren’t allowed to leave the house without a man. To become the breadwinner, the sole earning person of the family who supports the basic amenities, Parvana (care) transforms herself into a boy Aatish (Fire) by cutting her hair and dreams.
In a modest bazaar in Kabul, Parvana and his father Nurullah begin the narrative by selling a few of their personal favorites. Nurullah was a teacher by profession, lost a limb in the Russian war, and is now seen as subversive for pushing his children to be independent and learn about the liberating potential of their country’s legends. As he intended to educate her child, which was against Taliban norms, his father was soon detained by Taliban forces. Following that tragedy, it was extremely difficult for Parvana’s family to live, including an elderly mother, an older sister, and a little brother. In Afghanistan during the Taliban regime, being a woman was a curse, they were not even allowed to get water on their own. In the name of a “curse by the Islamic Sharia,” the Taliban kept women in the dark and took away their independence. Parvana decides to handle things on her own when her mother suffers assault during their attempt to visit her father in jail. hands. She decides to cut her hair short and dress like a guy in order to survive, taking her cue from her classmate Shauzia, who had likewise evolved into the family’s “man” and was given carte blanche to leave the house at will. This story also gives a glimpse of an Afghan household, food habits, and lifestyle filled with the melody of love and affection. Though in the end as soon as the conflict began, the family ultimately fell victim to their sad fate.
This film explores the contrast between a harsh present and a mythological past represented by the story of the Elephant King, which Parvana used to tell her little brother to distract him from the brutal condition. The village which was terrorized by some red-eyed Jaguars of Parvana’s imaginative folktale symbolized Afghan society under the Taliban Regime. The boy who was dancing and showed the courage to fight against that demon represented Parvana herself. In conclusion, two plot lines converge, but it leaves some loose ends. Political and feminine oppression that has persisted for years does not suddenly end like a fairy tale.
The simple and evocative faces of the characters of this film are the mirror of today’s Afghanistan. Though the film is based on the time period around 2001, the reflection of reality still remained the same after the Taliban came back into power in August 2021. The historical transition of Afghanistan from light to darkness is depicted through the prisms of stories of Parvana’s Father. The Taliban sacked hundreds of female government workers in April after telling them to stay at home and promising to pay their salaries. In April, the Taliban stopped paying the payments. No women are allowed to board a flight or take a long vehicle trip without a male escort. Women are bound to kill their dreams in the same way Shauzia and Parvana killed their desire to sit beside a sea beach. The manner Idrees, a commander of Taliban forces and a former Nurullah student, asked Parvana for marriage exemplifies how the Taliban saw women as a “Gift” they earned. A mother who may take up the blazing torch for her family or who can be an escapist, embracing the irony of fate, is reflected in a figure like Fattema, Parvana’s mother.
According to the Global Gender Gap Report 2022, Afghanistan is the worst country for women, with Pakistan coming in second. Contrary to religious naivety, some dads, like Nurullah, have the guts to instruct males on how to treat women rather than instructing females to cover themselves. Similar to this, many Parvanas are secretly or otherwise supporting their families by working. Most of their tales have never been told. One of them, Parvana, illustrates how Afghan kids are attempting to restore the grin to the shredded photograph of their innocent father who has been detained and also protects her family guided by the power of stories because, “Stories remain in our hearts, even when all else is gone”.
Until the storyline necessitates a new surge of emotional energy, ‘The Breadwinner’ is a story about a fighter. When Parvana visits his father with the assistance of a widower named Razzaq, it appears that there is a hurry. The narrative of the Elephant King, which Parvana used to tell her small brother, is a representation of their world, although it can occasionally disrupt the flow of the story. Another theme of the novel is Parvana’s sister’s marriage proposal to their distant cousin in exchange for support, which ends in an unpleasant fashion.In addition, Shauzia’s violent father and Parvana’s missing older brother Sulayman’s narrative remain unreported. If Parvana’s mother and sister were able to meet with her and her father in “the land where people are its greatest treasure,” it begs the question for the audience. It can appear that Parvana is more concerned with her father’s release than the welfare of her family. The family’s choice in the moments before the conflict appeared random at times.This animated piece directed by Nora Twomey offers us the song of the power of voice, which keeps us lively even in dynamic conditions.The narrative of a nation scared by nature as well as by religious gloom is enhanced by the soothing soundtrack and stunning animation. In contrast, this film represents the art of storytelling as a sword of Parvana to fight against religious darkness, because “It is rain that makes the flowers grow not thunder”.
Web References:
- The Breadwinner review – a girl’s courage on the streets of Kabul by Mark Kermode, May 27, 2008.
https://www.theguardian.com/film/2018/may/27/the-breadwinner-review-nora-twomey-deborah-ellis-kabul
- The Taliban in Afghanistan by Lindsay Maizland, January 19, 2023,
https://www.cfr.org/backgrounder/taliban-afghanistan
- Women in Afghanistan Facing Numerous Taliban Restrictions in 2022 by Akmal Dawi, December 24, 2022
Sharanya Bhattacharya
Intern, Asia in Global Affairs
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