Safar e Ghandehar 2001

Loren King, Boston Globe: Its many moments of poetic grace make this haunting and harrowing journey a rewarding one. Read more

Terry Lawson, Detroit Free Press: Perhaps best appreciated as a record of what life was like before the U.S. invasion and as a lesson in why the rest of the world should have cared even before the terrorist attacks. Read more

Richard Roeper, Ebert & Roeper: [T]he film has so many riveting scenes. Read more

Moira MacDonald, Seattle Times: Although occasionally its narration is a bit halting and awkward, it's a lyrical, stunning picture of the ravages of war. Read more

Jane Sumner, Dallas Morning News: A plea for compassion for a people suffering from poverty, illiteracy, and religious zealotry. Read more

Michael Wilmington, Chicago Tribune: A window on an Iran and an Afghanistan we should have taken account of long ago -- seen though a master's eye, felt through a poet's touch. Read more

Elvis Mitchell, New York Times: Worthy of some attention because it happens to portray the [Afghanistan] culture -- specifically the treatment of women in that Taliban stronghold -- in forceful and dramatic terms. Read more

Jan Stuart, Newsday: An eloquent and unshakable obituary to a reign of terror that defies comprehension. Read more

Kevin Thomas, Los Angeles Times: Remarkably revealing and timely. Read more

Eric Harrison, Houston Chronicle: The film is best appreciated as an open-ended 'fictional documentary' rather than a conventional feature with a beginning, middle and end. Read more

Steven Rosen, Denver Post: Its story is more interesting for its own back story than for the difficult, problematic way Makhmalbaf has of trying to dramatize it. Read more

Owen Gleiberman, Entertainment Weekly: There are moments of quiet power. Read more

Liam Lacey, Globe and Mail: Essential viewing. Read more

Fred Camper, Chicago Reader: Read more

Rene Rodriguez, Miami Herald: If the dramatics of the movie fail to engage as fully as they should, Kandahar remains fascinating as a piece of lyrical journalism. Read more

David Ansen, Newsweek: Read more

Andrew Sarris, New York Observer: We never see Nafas reach Kandahar, but we have been taken on a colorful and exhilarating trip just the same. Read more

James Berardinelli, ReelViews: Ultimately works far better as an educational tool than as a traditional narrative-bound motion picture. Read more

Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times: Kandahar does not provide deeply drawn characters, memorable dialogue or an exciting climax. Its traffic is in images. Read more

Andrew O'Hehir, Salon.com: Often a strikingly beautiful meditation on the harsh desert landscape it surveys. Read more

Mick LaSalle, San Francisco Chronicle: Kandahar has the immediacy and authenticity of a documentary and the poetry of a strong dramatic feature. Read more

Jeff Strickler, Minneapolis Star Tribune: It's a simple series of snapshots from a country in pain. Read more

St. Louis Post-Dispatch: Read more

Peter Howell, Toronto Star: Kandahar, graced with cinematography that is beautiful even in its desolation, is more of a documentary than a dramatic feature, although it has the power of great drama. Read more

Geoff Andrew, Time Out: Read more

Deborah Young, Variety: Read more

J. Hoberman, Village Voice: Feels truncated, but it communicates a certain urgency and at times a powerful sense of the absurd. Read more

Stephen Hunter, Washington Post: It's a bleak testament to the pettiness of man -- or, in this case, men. Read more