August 27th, 2008
The Buddha Collapsed out of Shame
Baktay, die and you will be free!
The Buddha Collapsed out of Shame is a beautifully shot film by the younger Makhmalbaf film-maker, Hana. It tells the story of a young Afghan girl wanting to learn how to read and the struggle she undertakes to purchase a notebook by selling eggs. On her way to school she encounters a group of boys playing a game of war, in which they play the Taliban. They capture Baktay and set the scene for her stoning before she is carried away and imprisoned within the caves. It’s not particularly easy viewing when you know that such horrific acts still take place in certain parts of the world, but in casting children much of the politics seems somewhat far removed.
By showing today’s picture of Afghanistan, I tried to depict the effects of the recent years’ violence on the country. So that the adults could see how their behavior affects the younger generation. Children are the future adults. If they get used to violence, the future of the world will be in great danger. A teenage boy in the film says: ”When I grow up I will kill you”. Because as a child he has been through lots of violence so it has become part of his usual life. I think that children’s real school is observing and copying their parent’ behavior or other adults around them – Hana.
During both the opening and closing of the film the viewer witnesses real footage of the Buddha’s ‘collapse‘ in March 2001, which becomes the film’s back drop. In setting the film here Hana attempts to explore Moshen Makhmalbaf’s metaphor that ‘even a statue can be ashamed of witnessing the violence and harshness happening to these innocent people and therefore, collapse’.
