Review of The Breadwinner (2017) by John M — 04 Mar 2018

A different way of life. So this is about a young girl in Afghanistan who goes by the name Parvana (Saara Chaudry). When her father is suddenly removed from the picture, her family is in a bit of a tough spot because of how radically different the culture treats women over there.

In order to simply walk the street, she disguises herself as a boy so she can provide for her family. Now this was one that I was excited for, but I had no real means of watching this until after the fact.

It never even got a wide release, so I don't feel like this was really my fault. At its peak, it was only at 38 theaters nationwide. So, naturally, when I just happened to see it pop up on the Netflix streaming carousel, I jumped at the opportunity to watch it.

This is a stressful animated film that they have made here. Now this is from the same studio that made The Secret of Kells, a beautiful little film that featured a tale that I never really got into. This is not the case with The Breadwinner, and while it does feature the same gorgeous artwork, you are put on pins and needles for what is about to happen next.

It may be a cartoon, but it is a story where I never at any point felt safe for these characters. You can't get higher stakes than survival, and over in Afghanistan, that is just the norm, and you learn to live with the constant danger of the Taliban.

It shouldn't come as much surprise to say that the way of life is different for women stateside when compared to Afghanistan, but Afghanistan is unique because they are viewed as different classes of people entirely.

These are men who hate women and are constantly ordering them around to the point of violence, and I felt like I easily grasped the message that this movie had to say: that is the status quo over there.

The whole time I watched this, my heart was in my throat, and I could see this ending poorly at any given moment. It is just the type of movie it is, and I wouldn't have been surprised either way.

Because you are constantly on guard, you are on the edge of your seat throughout, and you are always engaged with the story at every single turn. There is a great message of equality that is easy to get behind, and it gives you a good understanding of what exactly life is like in the Middle East.

This is a terrific little film that is well worth your time.