Not long ago, the Oscars, which had just come to an end, were criticized by many people, political correctness manipulated the awards too much, and several black-themed works were actually at a high level, especially the best film "Moonlight Boy", which was really too prestigious.
In fact, the phenomenon of political correctness influencing film and television works has a long history in Western countries, and to some extent, it is also a sign of the gradual rigidity of Western civilization.
Correspondingly, Indian films in Asia are developing better and better, and the most valuable thing is that Indian films are not affected by the political correctness of Western countries, and they can show different views on the same thing from different perspectives.
"Kabul Express" is such a different work.
The film tells the story of two Indian journalists who travel to Kabul, Afghanistan, to interview, and on the way, they meet a Taliban and an American female journalist, four people plus an Afghan civilian driver, forming a wonderful "team" and spending 48 hours together.
The whole story is typical of the road movie mode, and all the plot takes place along the way.
The script of the story, most of the manuscript comes from the director Kabir Khan's diary in Afghanistan, for the situation in Afghanistan, he has a first-hand information that most people do not have, so his experience of the situation in Afghanistan is much deeper and more authentic, which is particularly prominent in the setting of several characters.
Indian journalists, American female journalists, Taliban, Afghan civilians, such a combination of characters, will produce a strong dramatic chemical reaction, is expected, but sometimes excessive drama, but will be distorted, and the primary reason for distortion is the stereotyping of the characters.
Kabir Khan holds a rare sense of objectivity and rationality in arranging the characters, and none of the five people are extreme, extreme, flat characters, who have different views but are generally moderate.
The most typical are Taliban elements and American women journalists. The former does express his rejection and hostility to the United States and Western culture, but he is not as violent as imagined, in fact, he has always been very restrained, never killed the protagonists, and when talking about his daughter, we see a father full of affection. The latter, on the other hand, did not preach any so-called universal values at all, confessing that she just wanted to provide a fiery first-hand account, to make a name for herself, to show a typical individual utilitarianism, so that when the Taliban like her angrily denounced the CULTURAL invasion of Afghanistan by the United States, her reaction was... Shut up my ass!
In these characters, we can clearly see the essence of being human, rather than some kind of abstract label, or even a kind of de-labeling.
In this way, the conflict of the characters is clear, but not intense. When the Taliban saw the American female journalist showing her cleavage, she did not act excessively, but only stared thoughtfully; when the Indian reporter questioned the Taliban's beliefs, it was a mild question, not a fierce criticism; the mutual accusations between civilians and Taliban elements were limited to scolding and grinning... Such conflicts, in a large number of politically correct films, appear too mild and quite unique, eliminating drama while adding a little bit of truth to the story.
Kabir Khan was originally a documentary filmmaker, in order to shoot documentaries, he has been to more than 50 countries, "Kabul Express" is his first feature film, rich experience in documentary shooting, so that the work from time to time exudes a realistic atmosphere, and the delicate and subtle observation, but also let him accurately grasp the uniqueness of the kabul scenery.
As a result, we see the rolling Gobi, the desert, and even more the abandoned tanks, the weak and poor villages, the women wearing polka, in addition to the harsh natural environment, it is the profound impact of war and conservative thinking on this land.
In this context, the group of five people traveled all the way forward, witnessing everything in Kabul, tribal struggles, warlord divisions, mob rallies and other political factors that caused local complexity and turmoil, and also felt a lot of goodwill and simplicity from the local people.
It can be said that this road trip is a journey of exploration of Afghanistan, which corrects the long-term distorted impression of Afghanistan, which is indeed unstable and chaotic, but it is also inhabited by people, not demons.
It was surprising to be able to rationally portray the Taliban, and as the exchange deepened, two Indian journalists actually established a friendship with him and finally helped him escape the pursuit. This is clearly contrary to political correctness, but it is in keeping with human nature.
People are emotional animals, and when they are swayed by emotions, it is actually easy to abandon principles. That's the case with two Indian journalists, who knew it wasn't right, but did it anyway.
Kabir Khan deserves to be a documentary, for him, respect for the facts is more important than in line with political correctness, and it is this point of finishing touch, let the whole film of the realm of the rise, think about it, maybe the contradictions between human beings are not as serious as we think, a little communication, a little understanding, the ice can melt, and we would rather put it into violence, war...
Of course, terrorism is wrong and beyond reproach, so the Taliban's final fate is still death. The three views of the film are still correct, it is intended to show the truth, not to whitewash the evil.
Taliban elements were killed
Indians have a natural sense of comedy, so comedy is what they are good at, and this work is no exception, in the seemingly serious topic, it is cleverly embedded with a variety of jokes and humor, making people look very relaxed.
On the afghan issue, India has always been neutral, it is not a pro-Western country, but also has enough strength to maintain political independence, so the film is made like this, it can be said that the Indians are bold, it can also be said to be expected, for us, only look at the works produced by the West or pro-Western countries, will limit thinking, will also lose objectivity, then Indian films for opening up ideas, is a good choice, you will find that the same thing, from another perspective, will be very interesting, And this is precisely the meaning of the multipolarization of the world.
PS: This is the first international film to be shot entirely in Afghanistan since the fall of the Taliban.