Review of Afghan Star (2008) by Aleksi M — 06 Jun 2010

Afghan Star is a film posing as a documentary about a show called "Afghan Star" which is currently running in Afghanistan. But what the film really is about is the state of the country itself. The TV-show is just a way to really get to the more interesting and controvercial subjects.

There's a lot of talk in this film about how the so-called pop culture is forbidden in Afghanistan. In fact, commercial music was forbidden until the fall of the Taleban rule in 2001. However music and entertainment is still a very touchy issue because there are a lot of Taleban supporters still around and the interpretations people make out of the Qur'an differ radiaclly. Many people even think that dancing is forbidden by Allah because they believe it's His command. I'm not really in a position to talk about these things but what I can talk about is the film I just saw.

Afghan Star follows the lives of the 9 final contestants on a talent show called "Afghan Star". It's kind of like American Idol or X-Factor but with Arabic music. We follow the people through the controvercies and even death threats to find that the true freedom in their lives comes from music. As they say, it is not the politicians or the constant discussions that give these people the feeling of freedom, it is the ability to form your thoughts into a song which you can sing to the people. As it is said, The Afghan Star is the closest that the Afghan people have ever gotten to democracy.

The film also deals with entertainment in general in Afghanistan. A lot of people talk about how they have to hide the fact that they own computers or televisions from the Taleban fanatics who would probably kill them if they found out about it. The way it deals with these is people is what makes this film so powerful. These are real and normal people who can't speak out in a country which opresses their rights as human beings. This is their way of speaking out.

The whole film is well crafted and tasteful. It doesn't bring blame on anyone, it just deals with the facts. Most imporantly, this film is very interesting. There isn't a boring moment because you so rarely hear about these kinds of things. This is also a great learning experience as not everyone seems to understand that the people in the Middle-East are just the same as everyone else in the world. They worry about the same things and fight for the same rights.

This film was a delight! If you're at all interested in any of the things I've mentioned you should watch this film. It's not perfect but it's short and sweet and it deals with important issues. And even though you might hate the music it's still so much fun to listen to the contestants.