Afghanistan: The Lost Truth

Espousing their selfless hopes, faith, and dreams for their country in this documentary shot soon after the fall of the Taliban, the Afghani interviewees here tend to be a bit repetitive--but that common sense of relief and eagerness to rebuild is the very point of Iranian filmmaker Yassamin Maleknasr, who travels across Afghanistan talking mostly to women and girls now free to resume their jobs and educations, but also tapping briefly into the history and cultural context (and contrast) of each region and city along the way. Beautifully photographed, highlighting the vivid colors of Afghan attire against the nation's arid, brown desert backdrops, and peppered with poetry and music (once again an allowed part of Afghani life), Afghanistan: The Lost Truth captures the ancient artistic beauty of Herat, the trade centers of Kandahar, and the dusty bustle of Kabul, which thrives as the "main artery" of Afghanistan but becomes "more desolate and ruined" with each war or uprising. The soul of the film, however, comes from meeting the people, including a filmmaker who watched the Taliban burn 2,500 movies, women's literacy and trade teachers, the nation's human rights commissioner (who says she has had equality on her mind since childhood), the minister of health (a steadfast feminist), and many more urbanites and rural peasants--every one of whom expresses no personal ambitions, only a desire to help Afghanistan thrive again. Maleknasr has an ability to project those emotions right through the screen, which along with the cultural touchstones, makes this film an enlightening experience, even if the newfound "freedoms" in Afghanistan remain tenuous, at best. Recommended. Aud: C, P. (R. Blackwelder)