An Eye Toward Canaan…

1) It is a fantastic story. Brian and I were gripped from the opening scene (Is there really “a way to be good again? What is it?” You can just feel the crisis/redemption element shaping up immediately). For those who know about the Brian test — he stayed awake from start to finish. The plot is heavy, but there is a redemptive element toward the end. Brian and I were literally cheering in the living room during the one fight scene (those who have seen it know which one). I cried unabashedly during some scenes. Very satisfying.

2) Great character development. Rich dialog and moving characters. You feel for each one of them (except for the Taliban figures, but you’re not supposed to feel much empathy with them!) –there are some distinctly “bad” characters, one distinctly “good” character (the “Christ figure” of the movie), but most characters are both–very real.

3) Satisfying symbolism — in screenplay, dialog, and cinematography. For those of us who thrive on the figurative–it’s great. Some sacrificial/Christlike symbolism (although I should clarify that it is a distinctively Muslim movie, and there is no Christian symbolism intended in the movie–but as a Christian, I found the symbolism richer than intended, perhaps.)

4) Spiritual impetus — every night since we have watched this movie, I have prayed for more missionaries to go to Afghanistan and for God to protect the ones that are already there. The movie does such an excellent job of portraying the oppression (spiritual and political) that exists in Afghanistan without dehumanizing the country or stripping the Afghani people of their dignity. Well done. As a side note–interestingly, the movie portrays Afghani Islam as being multifaceted — fundamentalist, folk, and nominal Muslims are all incorporated into the movie, and Islam is painted as having both a harsh, hypocritical side as well as a merciful and forgiving side.

5) Educational? — I am not sure about this one since I don’t know enough facts about the country or its faith to know how fairly the movie represents it all. However, the basic historical facts (the Russian takeover, and the treatment of the Hazara people, for example) are true, and that was educational for me.

6) Gritty without being graphic. This movie was SO well done in that respect. There are some very “heavy” things that take place, but you never actually see most of them because the graphic, gruesome details are subtly replaced, which left even more of an emotional impact on me than if I had seen some gory, gratuitous, overly dramatic murder or rape scene.

All in all, this was probably one of the most well-done, satisfying, and moving movies I’ve ever seen. The Tabbs highly recommend it.

PS — One bonus reason to watch–it is $1 at McDonald’s to rent–we are big Redbox/Netflix fans.