Movie Review: The Breadwinner

The Breadwinner **** / *****

Directed by: Nora Twomey.

Written by: Anita Doron & Deborah Ellis.

Starring: Saara Chaudry (Parvana), Laara Sadiq (Fattema), Shaista Latif (Soraya), Ali Badshah (Nurullah), Noorin Gulamgaus (Idrees / Sulayman), Kawa Ada (Razaq), Soma Chhaya (Shauzia).

 

The Breadwinner is the third feature from Irish animation studio Cartoon Saloon – following the delightful The Secret of Kells and even better Song of the Sea. Refreshingly, this is a studio that has its own visual look – using traditional animation, rather than the computer generated look that American studios (even good ones) have seemed to fully embrace. While this studio is building slowly, they are craving out a name for themselves in making beautiful, intelligent animated films for adult audiences, and older children. I’m not quite sure that The Breadwinner is as good as The Secret of Kells or Song of the Sea – the story is clunky at times – but it is every bit as gorgeous.

 

The story takes place in Kabul, under Taliban rule. Young Parvana is an 11 year old girl, the daughter of a former teacher, who lost in leg in one of Afghanistan’s many wars. Women – and girls – are forbidden from leaving their house without being accompanied by a male family member – something that becomes impossible once an angry former student – and now Taliban member – has Parvana’s beloved father arrested and thrown in jail. In order to provide for her mother, older sister and infant brother, Parvana eventually decides she must sheer off her hair, disguise herself as a boy – and head out into the streets of Kabul – to earn money, and bring home good. Another war is coming – of course – and eventually, she and her family has to make one difficult or nearly impossible decision after another – to survive, and maybe, rescue their father.

 

First things first – the film looks utterly beautiful. The look is very similar to the previous two cartoon saloon films – especially in terms of character design, with the characters having large eyes, and open faces. There is a story within the story, that has a different style as well – almost cut and paste like – that works. This is one of the most beautiful animated films of the year.

 

The film does suffer a little bit in terms of its plotting. The story within a story goes on too long – and because they intersperse it throughout the film, it often interrupts the regular plot of the film at annoying moments – and doesn’t redeem itself in at the payoff of the story (which undercuts what should be a powerful moment). The film seemingly forgets about the father in jail for a good hour in the middle of the movie – before they need to resolve the story, and up the emotional stakes.

 

Still, the plot mainly works in the larger sense – and even when it falters, moment by moment, the film is beautiful to behold. Director Nora Twomey – making her solo directing debut (she was a co-director on The Secret of Kells), establishes herself as a director on par with her Cartoon Saloon cohort Tomm Moore. The film isn’t for small children – who will likely – and understandably – before scared by it. But mature kids will get a lot out of it. It is a film that needs to be seen – by a studio that is quickly becoming one of my favorites.