A 2D-animated story taking place in the real world with no princesses? A hard sell these days. "The Breadwinner," based on the book by Deborah Ellis, runs completely counter to the CGI-photorealism, elaborate world-building and talking animals of Disney, DreamWorks and Illumination. Yet that's precisely what makes it a pleasure to watch, just not in the absent-minded "how do I entertain my kids for a couple hours?" way.
Simply animated, softly spoken and not trying to crack jokes all the time, there's an endearing purity to "The Breadwinner" that becomes rather immediately apparent. The drawing style lack gritty details, and yet the characters are all extremely expressive, especially the big green eyes of protagonist Parvana (Saara Chaudry), a young girl living in Kabul, Afghanistan whose father is jailed by the Taliban for more or less talking back.
Of course, losing your patriarch in a strict Muslim patriarchal society in which women must stay indoors or be accompanied by a man (and covered head to toe) is a problem, especially for Parvana, her mother, older sister and baby brother. Without any means to provide for themselves, Parvana disguises herself as a boy to sell goods and reading/writing services at the market, while also trying to make cash on the side to buy information about how she can rescue her father from prison.
Interspersed throughout the narrative is Parvana telling a very long, traditional-sounding fairy tale, first to little brother Zaki, then to a girl her age who is also disguised as a boy and lastly to herself. The story of Sulayman, who went on a quest to retrieve his village's precious seeds from the evil Elephant King, gets told in a paper-cut animated style but is actually the most sophisticated element of the movie. One expects the tale of Sulayman to reveal an obvious moral parallel to Parvana's story, but this side narrative has much deeper and complex relationship with the main story.
Despite the animation's technical simplicity, director Nora Twomey ("The Secret of Kells") builds an extremely vibrant Kabul. The film is never lacking for setting or context and certainly offers more of an authentic perspective on life in Afghanistan under the Taliban than any contemporary American war film audiences are used to. The realities of living under terrorist rule and being a Muslim woman are also extremely accessible to children Parvana's age (11) and older.
Focusing on a traditional story of familial struggle, "The Breadwinner" manages to hit all its emotional marks and immediately root itself in viewers' hearts. It's so genuine, authentic and not flashy, which makes it an ideal tool for the emotionally mature child, not so much the easily distracted, younger variety.
~Steven C
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Simply animated, softly spoken and not trying to crack jokes all the time, there's an endearing purity to "The Breadwinner" that becomes rather immediately apparent. The drawing style lack gritty details, and yet the characters are all extremely expressive, especially the big green eyes of protagonist Parvana (Saara Chaudry), a young girl living in Kabul, Afghanistan whose father is jailed by the Taliban for more or less talking back.
Of course, losing your patriarch in a strict Muslim patriarchal society in which women must stay indoors or be accompanied by a man (and covered head to toe) is a problem, especially for Parvana, her mother, older sister and baby brother. Without any means to provide for themselves, Parvana disguises herself as a boy to sell goods and reading/writing services at the market, while also trying to make cash on the side to buy information about how she can rescue her father from prison.
Interspersed throughout the narrative is Parvana telling a very long, traditional-sounding fairy tale, first to little brother Zaki, then to a girl her age who is also disguised as a boy and lastly to herself. The story of Sulayman, who went on a quest to retrieve his village's precious seeds from the evil Elephant King, gets told in a paper-cut animated style but is actually the most sophisticated element of the movie. One expects the tale of Sulayman to reveal an obvious moral parallel to Parvana's story, but this side narrative has much deeper and complex relationship with the main story.
Despite the animation's technical simplicity, director Nora Twomey ("The Secret of Kells") builds an extremely vibrant Kabul. The film is never lacking for setting or context and certainly offers more of an authentic perspective on life in Afghanistan under the Taliban than any contemporary American war film audiences are used to. The realities of living under terrorist rule and being a Muslim woman are also extremely accessible to children Parvana's age (11) and older.
Focusing on a traditional story of familial struggle, "The Breadwinner" manages to hit all its emotional marks and immediately root itself in viewers' hearts. It's so genuine, authentic and not flashy, which makes it an ideal tool for the emotionally mature child, not so much the easily distracted, younger variety.
~Steven C
Thanks for reading! Visit Movie Muse Reviews for more