Gentle and powerful, such cartoons are really great

Coby 2022-01-17 08:01:43

01.

"The breadwinner" is the kind of animated film that is rarely seen in domestic theaters. It has a deep realism background and romantic aesthetic value.

Afghanistan, the Taliban, such plot keywords, may make many people think:

"It must be the kind of heavy and tear-jerking movie."

In fact, the original novel "The breadwinner" is originally a literary book for teenagers, and the text level has already brought a layer of soft light filter. The film is adapted and presented in the form of animation. The fresh style of painting carefully wraps the pain caused by war and extreme religion, gentle but powerful.

02.

Around 2000, in Afghanistan, the Taliban government had taken control of all political and religious powers, and had implemented extreme Islamic fundamentalist policies with high pressure. Women's freedom of movement was greatly restricted. Pawana, a little Afghan girl, had to pretend to be a boy because her father was forcibly detained by the Taliban, and she had to assume the responsibilities of her family's life. In the end, relying on the help of kind people, he rescued his father from the Taliban prison.

It can be said that when facing this script, the production team has almost maintained the greatest degree of calm. He was not eager to give the story more politically correct connotations in order to win certain awards, but to see the truth in the details and listen to the thunder in the silent place.

At the beginning of the film, it was two Taliban who found Pawana's family.

The small and arrogant one is called Idris, who was once a student of Pawana's father. Teachers and students turned against each other, and a simple setting outlined the drastic changes in Afghan society in the past few years.

Later, the tomboy Pawana and her good friend Xiao Xia, who also pretended to be a boy, worked together in the mine of Uncle Idris, but they were found out by Idris.

When the furious Idris tried to shoot at Pawana who was hiding in the cave, he was stunned and looked into the cave in a panic, as if to check whether the two girls were really injured.

And when he got on the truck that was actually going to the battlefield, he was still panicking and panicking. At this time, we seem to remember that even though his face is abominable, he is just a young man who has not been involved in the world. Maybe he himself still doesn’t understand the meaning of this war. He was pushed towards him because of his blind obedience and ignorance of power. Into the unknown abyss.

The other of the two Taliban is called Razak. When Idris made things difficult for Pawana's father, he was the one who tried his best to discourage and prevent things from getting worse.

What's more interesting is that although Razak is tall and burly, from the image point of view, he is somewhat similar to Pawana's father, and even once sat next to Pawana, where his father was originally sitting. In the end, it was with his help that Pawana's family was reunited.

When the bad guys will be confused and uneasy, and even show a trace of warmth in their hearts, then it is self-evident who is behind the scenes that pushes people to the edge of life.

In this main story, there is another small detail that I like very much:

When her father was captured and Pawana decided to cut off her long hair and pretend to be a boy, a waning moon hung high in the night sky.

When Pawana grew up and took on the important responsibilities of the family, the waning moon had become a new moon.

Finally, when Pawana rescued her father and the family was reunited, behind her was a bright full moon.

The moon in Islamic civilization is a symbol of light. From the waning moon to the full moon, it is from darkness to perfection.

03.

Compared with the main line of restraint everywhere, the sub-line plot of "Family Supporter" is full of imagination. It not only uses more exaggerated paper-cut animations in terms of color and form, but also inserts some hilarious small bridges.

However, the screenwriters always like to attack the laughter and tear ducts of the audience when they are at their most relaxed.

In this story, in order to defeat the evil King of Elephants, the brave young Suleiman collects the seeds planted in the year for the villagers, went all the way to fight monsters, and finally stood in front of the King of Elephants and obtained precious seeds.

However, this is not an ordinary fairy tale. Suleiman did not defeat the evil monster, but told a story in despair:

"My name is Suleiman, my mother is a writer, my father is a teacher, and my sisters are always arguing. One day I saw a toy on the street and picked it up. It exploded. I don’t remember what happened later, because that’s the end of the story."

Later, we learned that Sulaiman was the name of Pawana's dead brother. The Pawana family lived in such a country accompanied by death. When a child sees a toy on the side of the road, and just wants to pick it up and play with it, he is in danger of losing his life.

Fortunately, Pawana did not become Suleiman, but became as brave as Suleiman in the story, not afraid of evil, to shoulder the responsibilities and weight she shouldn't bear at her age.

04.

Xiao Xia's boy name is "Telihua", she once proudly said that this name means bravery.

The boy Pawana named herself "Adish", which means fire.

You see, the two most important words in the story, courage and hope, have long been written in the names of the two girls.

Go ahead while you can still see it in the cinema.

View more about The Breadwinner reviews

Extended Reading
  • Lola 2022-03-28 09:01:09

    You can be sonorous, but don't make a fuss. It is the rain and dew that nourish the flowers, not the rolling thunder.

  • Timmy 2022-03-20 09:02:35

    I believe in the power of cartoons. Sometimes they are more shocking than the live-action version. All the discomforts and accusations against the world are given the softest blow to reality with the power of a cartoon.

The Breadwinner quotes

  • Parvana: But I'm not a boy!

    Shauzia: You're not a boy, you're not a girl.

  • Parvana: Artesh. I remembered my name. It's Artesh.

    Shauzia: That's not really a name.

    Parvana: It means fire.

    Shauzia: I know what it means, but it's still not a name.

    Parvana: Then it suits me fine.