Documentary+Review

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 * Addicted in Afghanistan (2007)**

Directed by Jawed Taiman Written by Jawed Taiman and Sharron Ward Produced by Sharron Ward Filmed by Jawed Taiman Edited by Jason Brooks, Nigel Taylor, and Sharron Ward

As the name suggests, this documentary centers around heroin addicts in Afghanistan. It touches upon topics like young addicts, relapsed addictions, and hospital and rehabilitation centers. The main idea, which I think is showing us an aspect of life that’s affecting millions of people around the world, is conveyed through interviews and short captions. The film maker, who is Afghan, is trying to raise awareness for his country and the issues with drug use there. Corrupted hospitals and the lack of rehabilitation help is shown along with relapsed patients and a successful recovery giving a balance of good and bad. A more personal level is entered when a family of addicts is interviewed. The son has been addicted since he was 8, the father is too, and the mother, who feels as if her “whole family has been destroyed”, is left to take care of a young daughter. It’s not a tear jerker or something super happy and it doesn’t have to be. A strong message is conveyed and you feel a connection with the interviewees. “Addicted in Afghanistan” deserves 4 out of 5 shiny golden starts in my book.

(There’s also a longer full length version of this documentary that was released in 2009)

Well written. Concise and descriptive...excellent structure.

22/24

//I liked this documentary. The mysterious question slowing growing clearer as more answers are revealed got me speculating about the question. The more typical answers at the beginning growing towards the more oblique and abstract answers towards the end was a cool way of organizing things. Cutting back and forth between the variety of people and not playing them in the order that they were played was a good editing technique.//
 * //5o People, 1 Question//**

//In class when we watched this I cried. Then I came home and watched it a second time and cried again. The third time through guess what? I cried again. It’s just so emotional and beautiful and sad. The dog is accepting and loves unconditionally and he teaches that to those around him which is a great message to convey through a documentary.//
 * //Last Minutes with Oden//**

//It conveyed a very clichéd message. The actor portrayed the character’s feelings well and the filmography was good but the rest of it didn’t appeal to me. It reminded me of a badly shot horror movie where no matter how much you yell at the main character to not open the door s/he does and ends up getting killed.//
 * //The Black Hole//**

//After watching the trailer I’m not really sure whether or not I would want to watch this. I’ve seen documentaries on bullying before and the trailer sort of gave too much away. Also after one of the guys says he wishes he had a real friend, a scene later in the trailer shows him laughing with several other guys looking like he’s having fun. Then with the guy who got hit by the car, he was later laughing and joking around about it. The documentary seems contradicting and not very serious which wouldn’t get a clear message across.//
 * //The Bullying Project//**