multiplex screens two important films about the Middle East

The multiplex theater is very rarely accused of being a bastion of political interest or cultural significance. With most of the “higher profile” tent pole productions (primarily concerned with superheroes, sequels and sequels about superheroes) being held for release in the warmer months, January is well regarded by the big distributors as an entertainment desert. In a season, however, generally reserved for spackling over empty screens with smaller, more emotional productions and last minute Oscar bids, some good things occasionally happen.

Case in point: When was the last time you can remember two films by major studios about the socio-political history of the Middle East showing simultaneously on the big screens? This week saw the release of Universal’s “Charlie Wilson’s War,” a film “based on a true story” about the United States’ involvement in the late 1980s cold war effort against the Russian occupation of Afghanistan. At the same time, Paramount released “The Kite Runner,” a bleak but hopeful fiction film about friendship and redemption spanning 20 years of late 20th century Kabu. Both films are playing side by side, against all odds, in mainstream theaters.

Since the times of Alexander the Great, the rugged and beautiful terrain of Afghanistan—the “gateway to India”—has been besieged by hostile and powerful external forces. Against remarkable local resistance, China, Russia and even the United Kingdom, among others, have all taken bloody military action to turn the region toward their own purposes. Against such overwhelming adversity, it’s a testament to the strength and pride of Afghani people that they’ve managed to retain any semblance of cultural identity. It’s no surprise that their efforts to do so have resulted in such a fractured, complex and volatile political climate.

Though many fascinating and frightening works have come out of Afghanistan in recent years, including 2001’s visceral “Kandahar” and 2003’s terrifying “Osama,” most have received woeful degrees of popular attention in the West. The recent critical success of Michael Winterbottom’s harrowing tale of Afghani refugees, “In This World,” and the United States’ continuing imbroglio in the Middle East seem to have inspired enough interest in the region and its history to pave the way for such films to finally be produced by mainstream Western studios. As promising as this may be, it may also prove something of a double-edged sword.

Both “Charlie Wilson’s War” and “The Kite Runner” make valiant attempts to assay some very complex themes, but neither manage to effectively connect to the deeper roots of the problems that have plagued Afghanistan for so long. Though sporting some top tier performers (Tom Hanks, Julia Roberts and Phillip Seymour Hoffman), “Charlie Wilson’s War” might be a little too polished for it’s own good. And, the film takes an awful lot of liberty with the “facts” that it describes. “The Kite Runner” on the other hand, attempts (with handheld cameras and subtitles) to mimic the production values of an indie picture, distilling Khaled Hossini’s wildly popular epic down to a pallid and disconnected character study, which literally loses much in translation. Both films take largely intimate approaches, favoring focus on personal rather than political complexities of their respective material. Held to the considerable standard set by the indigenous productions of “Osama” and “Kandahar,” both of these efforts lack the kind of authenticity that might truly inform western audiences about the greater issues within which the characters seek to find their way.

Hollywood may be making some optimistic baby steps toward fostering true cultural enlightenment, but this kind of softball approach doesn’t immediately seem to serve a greater purpose. As long as they’re inviting audiences to eat their cinematic vegetables, it might behoove them, and us, and the beset people of Afghanistan, to add a little more spice.
That said, however, both new films represent a distinctly hopeful direction for cultural insight in popular filmmaking and, as such, merit some attention. The best way to encourage the studios that made these movies and the theaters that screen them is simply to get out there, buy the ticket and eat the damn vegetables. They’re good for you.